


Sven - ARDM

by Aditu



Category: Defense of the Ancients | Dota, Dota 2
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 05:59:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9870473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aditu/pseuds/Aditu
Summary: A normal war between the two sides where Sven finds something unexpected: love





	1. Prologe

**Author's Note:**

> Someone suggested I post my stories here, too. So I'll start now, one after the other. This was the first story I wrote, about two years ago I think. Enjoy :)

Dota

Sven - ARDM

by Aditu

The town had two circles. An inner one, which was the safe zone, and an outer one, both surrounded by walls. In the outer circle was the heart of the town that held the town with all its buildings alive. It was guarded with two towers. Around the heart were several houses and barracks, all on higher ground than the area outside the town. The inner circle was only used by merchants and as regeneration point for the top soldiers, the heroes. The merchants sold mostly weapons and armor suited for everyone, who would fight for their home. And fighting they did.

They were in constant war with their neighbour town and had to defend themselves endlessly. So everyone, male or female, was trained to fight and then sent into battle. It was the only thing they could do, otherwise they would have nothing left. If the heart was destroyed, all buildings of the town would fall apart and they would be completely at the mercy of their enemy. Not very desirable, such a fate.

The main goal was to keep the heart of their town safe. And the second one was to attack the enemy, maybe even to destroy the heart of their town, so that they could life in peace afterwards. But it was not easy. They had skilled fighters as well and it was an endless struggle, who would become victor of this war. You could not tell, who would win, because the two towns with their soldiers and heroes were equally strong. The balance of power always shifted a little. Depending on which hero was on the field it shifted back almost every time a hero was replaced by another after his or her death.

At the present, both towns had still all their towers, in and around the high ground of the heart. There were three ways between the two towns and on each way were two towers of each party. And one more at the three entrances to the towns. If you wanted to destroy the heart you had to get the three towers on one way down and then the two in front of the heart. Five towers minimum. That was not easy to do, because they had some kind of self-defense system, which started firing, as soon as an enemy soldier got into range. Those shots hurt and could easily kill someone, if he or she wasn't strong enough.

Most times, two or three heroes would try to destroy a tower with some soldiers together, to divide the fire power between them all. That way everybody would get injured, but nobody would die. The problem here was, the enemy had soldiers as well, and heroes as strong. They had to kill them first, preferably not under the tower, but outside of its shooting range. Then they could destroy the building.

Well, it was not as easy as it sounded, obviously, since both towns still had all their towers.


	2. Chapter 1

Sven stood inside the safe zone. He had to go out in a minute but wanted to buy a few things first. He didn´t know when he could be back to get more supplies, so he would get the most necessary items before he headed outside. He was assigned to the first tower on the bottom road, together with someone called Demon Witch. They would help the soldiers to defend the first tower and try to kill the enemy heroes, to get their tower down.

They were advised to go always in teams of minimum two heroes when roaming the landscape, because some of the heroes were hunters and if someone was spotted alone in the woods, he was an easy kill for a hunter. So in teams they went. Only the hero on the road in the middle was allowed to travel alone. Meant, he or she had to be extra careful.

Sven was still browsing the items of one of the merchants, when the Demon With approached him.

"Hey Rogue Knight. I will try to support you in our fight. I can fire from a distance, while you", he glanced at Sven's sword, "have to be close to attack. I will focus on the ones trying to hit you. And I can stupefy them. I can conjure spikes from the earth, which stun them. I will skill that ability of mine first and hope it gives us an advantage. I will also take some mana for us to replenish our lost magic after casting a spell. Good luck, I will wait for you at the entrance." With that he vanished between the other heroes.

Ugly fellow, Sven thought. But who was he to judge? They would fight side by side for the same goal. Who cared about good looks there? And it seemed he was determined to be a good support for him so that they were a team rather than two heroes fighting side by side.

He concentrated on the wares on display and decides to take a shield, to block incoming attacks, something to heal himself and maybe his supporting Demon Witch and a ring of protection. It was an ordinary grey thing, but the merchant promised it would heighten his armour and give him a minimum more of protection. He believed the merchant. They would not cheat them by selling things, which would not work. They lived in the town and would die like everybody else, if the heroes failed and the enemy destroyed the heart. Maybe they took too much money for some of their products, but Sven doubted even that.

Looking into his now nearly empty purse he left the safe zone with his new belongings and headed to the entrance, where the Demon Witch was waiting.

He gave him an acknowledging nod. "Let's go." And off they went. Some way behind them, soldiers gathered to follow.

"Do you wield some kind of magic?" The Demon Witch asked as they passed second tower.

Sven nodded. "A little. I can stun as well. I am able to throw a Storm Hammer, which will immobilize everyone it hits. But what´s better is my Sword. It can cleave through the enemies, damaging all units in an arc around me." He faced his support. "We will get them. I am strong. If you support me properly, we will survive and dominate our lane."

"Yes, we will."

At first tower they stopped, waiting for the soldiers to arrive. They would come in waves, always gathering at the entrances of the town and then heading to the first tower of each road. Somewhere between it and the first tower of the enemy, they would meet the soldiers and the heroes of their adversary and the fight would begin. Their soldiers would come in waves as well and normally they would send two heroes to this road.

Sven laid the blade of his sword on his shoulder and scanned his surroundings. Nothing to see, jet. The first wave passed the tower and he moved with them, right behind him the Demon Witch.

He was confused for a second, as his support vanished in the woods to his right, but was relieved when he saw him placing an Observer Ward on a juncture of paths. That way they had vision on this point, could see, when someone tried to sneak up on them. Good job, this. It seemed as if he had done this before, supporting someone. Could be possible. For him, it was the first assignment. He had been in training before, but they were not sent out all together from training. They were sent, when one of the other heroes had died. It could happen that a whole team of five new heroes was sent out, but usually only one or two had to go. The way the Demon Witch acted, he supposed he was in the fight for a longer time now or had done something similar before. That was good for him. He could adjust while his support knew what to expect and how to react. He was aware that his stun could even safe him, if he made a mistake at the beginning. Not all of them had such luck. It was the most critical part, the being knew on the battle field. The learning how things were different here than in the training area. A good support was as good as he could get.

The two groups of soldiers crashed and behind them he could see the enemy. One man and one woman. The man was a red spirit, with a red and orange glow around him, one who was surly able to cast magic. The woman had a dark bow drawn and started shooting at the soldiers from a distance. She wore a dark cape, her face in the shadows. He had to learn the skills and weaknesses of them fast, to counter them. The woman sure as hell wasn´t strong. She should be their first target, even if she stood some way back.

Sven swung his sword and joined the attack of the soldiers. He felt an arrow from the archer, but only one and his shield blocked some of the damage. He didn´t have time to turn around, but he suspected that his support had taken matters into hand and had fired at the woman. Which left the Fire Spirit. Sven had decided to concentrate on skilling his sword first, to improve the Cleave of the weapon. The more kills he made, the more skilled he would get. But he could not divide his experience on all his skills to the same degree. So first his Cleave it was. The advantage of that was, he hit the fire spirit, as soon as he came near him. And it did damage to him. Good to know he wasn´t really strong, either. If they worked together, maybe they could kill both of them soon. He needed to be able to use his stun, but it would not take him long to skill it.

The Demon Witch did a good job, because the archer didn´t shoot him again and soon the first wave of enemy soldiers was down. It had taken some lives from their own, but they had still three standing, an advantage. They marched on in the direction of the first enemy tower. They met the second wave of soldiers right outside the shooting range of the building. Hell, it was a bloody business. One man down, the next man there to attack. One wave killed, the next would follow. Only the elimination of a hero would give them a little time to breathe. Sure, since this was their goal. The first minutes passed like that. They made more ground than the enemy but as soon as they got to close to the tower, they lost it again. The damn building did really much damage to them and they always had to retreat.

Additionally the archer started to shoot frost embedded arrows, because near the tower, his support couldn't get far enough ahead to keep her on distance, and the Spirit started casting some kind of fire that jumped over and through them. The fire was painful and the frost slowed him down. Not very funny. They stayed clear of the tower than, though it meant their soldiers would all die and they had to go back and wait for the next wave. But the soldiers were only meant to help them, not the other way round. The heroes never helped the soldiers because they were way too valuable to die because of an ordinary warrior.

When they had to wait again, the Demon Witch showed him a shop of a neutral merchant on the side of the road. He would sell both parties his supplies and would not take sides. But they could spend their money. The money they got for their fighting as some kind of wage and the money they got as extra for every kill they made personally. He used the time they had to dally, before the next wave was with them, to improve the ring he already had. He let the merchant fuse it with soma kind of mask that improved the replenishment of his mana. Good to have, so he could cast his stun, which he had skilled now, more often.

The Demon Witch shopped as well, getting something that cast an aura of healing around him. Sven took a deep breath. Faster healing and faster mana regeneration. It was time for them to initiate an attack on the archer woman. Two stuns and his Cleave should get them the kill without her slowing them with her frost.

"When they are far enough away from their tower, I will through my Storm Hammer on the woman. I go after her and want you to spike her, when she moves again. Ignore the man, while he is casting his fire jumps, we can't see him anyway. I hope he won´t be able to do too much damage. But we have to try something and the woman is an easy target. Ready?" The Demon Witch nodded. On the road the soldiers strode past them and Sven joined, a little ahead of the first one, to get near the female hero. They neared with their own wave, far enough away from the protection of the tower. At first, Sven did like the minutes before, attacking the creeps. His support stayed a little behind and sure enough, the woman started to shoot him. Lucky to have that shield.

Sven turned and threw the Hammer, hitting the woman right on. He ran toward her, ignoring the sting of the fire, which was cast by the spirit. It didn´t do nearly enough damage to stop him. Swinging his sword in a wide ark he hit her, the same moment his stun faded. But the Hammer had already done damage, his blow with the Cleave as well and in that moment, the Demon Witch cast his spikes, splitting the earth and stunning the woman again. More luck, the man had manifested that second and was standing in the path of the Spikes, sharing the same fate as the archer. Both immobilized, it was easy for Sven, to swing his weapon and hit her a second time. His support started firing as well and it only took two more strikes, even as she started to move again after the third one, she wasn´t fast enough. His blade cut her in half and she fell to the ground, blood splashing everywhere. He took one deep breath, staring at the dead body to his feet, the dark hood fallen back and revealing a beautiful face with dark skin and now empty eyes staring up in the sky. The bow had fallen from her hands, lying on the earth, an arrow still on the string.

Determined he turned only to find the spirit rushing past him, behind the tower, some kind of shield cast around his glowing form. He was badly injured as well and if Sven had reacted fast enough, they might have gotten him as well. He knew it, without the Demon Witch telling him so a few seconds later.

"What do you think you were doing, standing there and staring? Now the spirit got away!" He was nearly yelling but Sven only stared at him blankly.

"We got one, didn´t we? So stop shouting. I go to the shop, I need some boots. Thank you for the support though; your spikes were exactly the right time."

The new boots were good. He could move way faster with them and they had a better fit. They were looking better, too.

"You can enforce them with strength and attack speed, if you want", the merchant told him. He nodded. Later he would do that. He needed attack speed. His sword was big and swinging it took a long time. Granted, it did a lot of damage, when it connected, but he could be more deadly, if he hit faster. So that would be his next items.

He joined the wave of soldiers passing by. The Demon Witch was standing on the other side of the road, staring at him. "Sorry I yelled at you. You are new, after all. You did a great job killing her. We both took nearly no damage and that is important, too. We will get the other one later. Just have to be careful until we know what the new hero can do. Don't want a surprise there. Maybe next time, we could first push the tower a bit before you go shopping. Would have gotten a few hits on it, if you stayed. Now, let's keep going."

And like at the beginning, Sven used his Cleave to fight against the soldiers, while the Demon Witch held his eyes open and scanned the surroundings. The fire spirit stayed away from them, wide outside of the range of the Storm Hammer, only sometimes doing his fire jumping thing. But the healing aura from his support counterbalanced the damage of the fire. No problem there.

"We have to start ganking soon", the Demon witch said. The second hero hadn´t arrived on their lane and they were able to start destroying the tower. But the tower still did too much damage, when it hit one of them and so they were not able to take it down. They couldn't kill the fire spirit, because he was too far behind the tower and they stood around more time, waiting for their soldiers, than they were fighting. Not very good. They would get less experience and less gold, when they could not fight. "Or you could go into the woods, kill some of the beasts inside. You get experience and gold from them as well and as long as only one single hero is on my lane, I can hold it. Maybe you should get a Morbid Mask first, from the shop. It will give you the ability to steal life, to regenerate as much life for yourself, as you do damage to your opponent."

"A Morbid Mask next? Will do. Call if you need help down here. I will see what lives between the trees."

"Be careful, especially since one hero is still missing on our lane. Take this ward, you can place it near the river." He pointed in a direction. "When you go this way, you can see a way down to the water. It's a good place to place the ward since you can see everybody who´s passing by and maybe heading into the woods to look for you."

Sven took the ward and headed in the pointed direction. He found the way down to the river, which was more like a wide creek, shallow, only ankle deep but with tiny fish swimming by. He placed the ward and was astonished about how much vision it granted. He would´ve never guessed that.

Than he headed back in the woods, not really sure what would await him there. But it was no big deal. There were beasts everywhere and of course some were easy to slay and some weren´t but he figured out quickly, which ones to engage and which ones to leave for later, when he had more experience in fighting. He gained skill and he did buy the mask, as his support had suggested, first. He used something like a delivery service, to get it without going directly to a merchant.

He could feel how he got stronger with every kill he made and when the hero from the middle lane made his way to their first tower, certainly to gank with them, he followed the little Fairy Dragon. They neared the road and he could see that the enemy heroes, tow again, had pushed the Demon Witch back to their first tower. He was wounded and surly wasn´t able to keep them away from the building. He gave no indication that he knew where he and the dragon were but Sven was sure it was only to keep the enemy from noticing them. Sven didn´t know what skills the dragon had and the second enemy hero on the lane was also new, but he was confident that they could take them. They were three against two and they had their stuns. He would engage, like before, and hope their fellow hero would have enough experience to be of help. Because the fire spirit had gotten stronger as well and was able to cast his fire jumps more frequently now, while doing a lot more damage. And the other one, a big man with a curved blade in a greatcoat, seemed a worthier opponent than the archer woman from before.

Sven was ready for this fight and as soon as the two stepped into the firing range of their tower he threw his Storm Hammer, hitting both. The Fairy Dragon cast some kind of orb, flying above the trees and hopping into that orb as soon as it had reached the enemy. Sven ran towards them, letting out a thundering war cry, which enhanced the armour of himself and his allied heroes. Swinging his sword toward the first enemy in his line, the fire spirit, the Cleave cut through both and their soldiers, killing two heavily injured ones directly. Good, he loved that weapon. With it he felt absolutely invincible.

The man with the sword turned as soon as he could move and engaged him with raised weapon. When it connected, it created some weird splash, similar to his Cleave, damaging all units nearby, almost killing the Demon Witch in the process. He expected his support to turn around and run (which would have been the sensible thing to do) but he remained where he was and cast a spell, which transformed the man into a little white chicken. He attacked the chicken immediately, since the spirit had started his jumping again and he couldn't see him anymore. Unfortunately the man stayed not an animal for long, only giving him time to hit twice. Damn, he had to improve his attack speed, it was really lousy. But next the little dragon, not a big help until now, did some things that glittered and sparkled and did something to the two heroes Sven couldn't see, but must be there because they seemed to panic. The man tried to run past him and the spirit went the other direction, where his heavily injured support was standing. It was a decision he had to make in less than one second: chase the man, who might still get away or save his support by killing the spirit, who would die anyway, because he was alone under their tower und not strong enough to survive its fire. It was an easy decision. His Storm hammer was ready and he took aim. Time seemed to still. The spirit was only one meter away from the Demon Witch and Sven could see he expected to die, when he threw it. He struck him between his shoulder blades, stunning him although he was instantly dead. He stood there, clearly mushed to death by a hammer, until the spell abated. Then he collapsed into a red puddle, not glowing anymore and since the hammer had broken all bones in his back, it really was a puddle. A man could never have laid in such a pose. All three stood frozen for a second, Sven the first one coming into action again. He had saved his support, now he had to get him back into town, without some other hero taking the chance of killing an almost defeated support.

He turned to the Fairy Dragon first. "Stay here or go back to your road, I don't care. But I will bring the Demon Witch to our safe zone, until he is healed. I will guard him into town. Then I will be back. Be careful, the man could come back, together with the one from your road." With that he took the arm of his support and guided him, as fast as he could go, along the road. They passed some soldiers but encountered no enemy. Nonetheless Sven couldn't breathe easily again until he was in range of the guarding tower of the entrance.

"My name is Lion", the Demon witch said. The healing thing he had bought earlier had given him back some energy. "Thank you for saving me."

"Lion. I´m Sven. No problem. Would hate to be responsible for the death of some fellow hero. Regenerate, then meet me at first tower."

They parted ways and Sven headed back to the front. He went through the forest first, to get some more of those beasts. The bigger ones were easier now and he got a few of them as well. Back at the tower he saw the Fairy Dragon still hovering near the tower.

"Didn´t want to go back through the woods alone. Not until we know if the new one against us is a hunter. I didn't want to risk encountering one of those sorts alone. Was a close-run thing we did here. Lucky your support got away. I wasn´t so sure ´bout that."

Sven ignored him and made his way to the shop on the side. He scanned the road and the way into the woods, seeing nothing. The ward had expired and his vision was limited. He hoped the Demon Witch, Lion, brought new wards with him. He upgraded his boots, now giving him attack speed and strength. Way better. Weary, because he didn´t know if the Fairy Dragon was as good a support as the Demon Witch, he joined their soldiers again. They were in the middle between the enemy tower and their own again, like at the beginning. As if nothing had happened meanwhile. He could see the man with the curved blade, probably waiting for a second hero on his side, before partaking in the fight. Sven didn´t care. His Cleave took the soldiers down one by one, leaving their own able to attack the enemy tower. It were only two or three attacks a time, because the man always engaged them and the splash he created did enough damage to clear the region of their tower. Even when Lion arrived at his side again, they could not do much. And then a second enemy hero appeared. He seemed to glide above the ground and held a lightning whip in hand, with which he attacked. And he was fast. Sven shuddered. Lightning with an armour made of steel? He would try to stay clear of that one, because he sure as hell didn´t want to get buzzed in something that would amplify electricity.

"I have placed a new ward and given the Fairy Dragon one to place at the river. He left for the middle road again", Lion told him.

With their soldiers eliminated under the tower, they retreated and waited for the next wave of soldiers.

"Maybe we should gank now. It worked with the Fairy Dragon at our side and we can't do much here. Maybe we can push the tower at the top road, when we are four heroes against two up there", Sven said. "You know some faster way up there than by foot?"

"Sure. Let's kill the next soldiers first and then we can buy us a Scroll of Town Portal. With them we can teleport directly to first tower on the top road. We don't know what is happening up there, so we have to be extremely careful and ready to fight instantly. You have enough mana for minimum one of your hammers to stun?"

He nodded.


	3. Chapter 2

The two heroes on their road were harder to harass than the ones before. The man with the sword always did his splash thing and didn´t care about Lion attacking him. And the lightning man was fast. He got some good shots on him and they did hurt. Good thing they were going to the top. They could come back later to gank them here.

With the wave down and their own under the enemy tower again they visited the merchant and used the Scroll of Town Portal to teleport to the top road. Easy going, this, only taking a few seconds.

Sven had no time to take in his surroundings when he arrived, because he was standing in the middle of a battle. Soldiers all around him, more enemy than not, and two enemy heroes hitting at the tower. Their two were standing farther back, both injured and unsure what to do. He reacted without thinking, throwing his Storm Hammer instantly at the mass, stunning nearly every enemy around the tower. Lion had teleported a few feet behind the tower but was rushing forward now, hexing one of them into a chicken and holding his Spikes on the ready to cast them as soon as the first one came out of Sven's stun.

The two others seemed still unsure, because they did not engage in the fight, just standing there and watching.

What the hell? Did they not want to take this opportunity?

"Get your asses here and help us!" Sven shouted. "We are four against two! We have to kill them!"

And then he saw her. She was standing behind the others, or better floating, because her feet did not touch the ground. She had the most beautiful face he had ever seen, delicate features, a cute nose and big brown eyes, which were focused on him. She raised her hands and flames where licking above her palms. Without the tiniest bit of emotion she threw the fire in a wave in his direction, scorching everything in its path. It hurt, but Sven was frozen in place. He was captivated by this woman. Her red hair was flowing around her face, brown streaks matching the colour of her eyes. She was wearing a tight red corset with flames engraved on the front, pushing up her breasts and bringing out her flat stomach. It merged with a flowing skirt, open at the front, leaving her legs bare and her red panties visible. She had no shoes, her toenails painted in bright red.

He could not move, could only stare at her, as she raised her hands again, summoning a column of flames that hit him fully, hurting and stunning him. Around him the enemy started attacking again, and the chicken turned back into a huge machine with a tiny man sitting in it, steering the steel automaton with integrated levers. But he and the other man, no, a buck, like a scarab, were injured and even though he was stunned, they seemed to decide it was too risky to stay.

He could hear the shouts of his fellow heroes, telling him to get back, away from the fire woman. And he could see Lion, zapping one of the enemies with his disfigured hand, but dealing not enough damage to kill him. They were already turning and retreated, out of tower range.

As he could move again, he shifted behind the tower, his gaze following the confident movement of the woman in red. Before the three enemies vanished into their woods, she looked back one more time, her gaze connecting with his but giving no hint of any feelings she might have. Cold bitch that one. Her fire was clearly only on the outside, but who was he to judge? They were in war and surly you had to be cold-hearted there.

Someone grabbed him on the arm.

"What the hell were you doing? Why did you fucking stop to attack?" Lion shouted. Then he turned around, facing the other two. "And you? Cowardly hiding behind the tower? We had the advantage, damn it! But we will never kill someone, if you don't fight!"

"Well", one of them, a man with a dark cloak, hood shadowing his face, and a wooden staff, said. "The woman can cast a bolt of fire. If you are hit by one you are instantly dead. We don't know how often she can do it, but we already lost two to the fire."

"Then take out the woman first! If she does the most damage, kill her before you attack the other. Can't be so difficult, can it?" Lion was still shouting, now turning back to him. God, the man was in a bad temper.

Sven knew it was his fault as well that they had not killed one of them, but could as well have gotten himself killed. He couldn't say what it had been that had him staring at the woman like that. It wasn´t as if he had never seen a beautiful female, but something about her had spoken to him, had captivated him.

She is the enemy. Concentrate! She felt nothing as she was looking at you. And you reacted like the worst kind of fool, gawking at some woman and getting yourself nearly killed in the process! His mind shouted at him. Great, not only was his support mad at him, his mind started criticizing him as well.

"I´m back at the safe zone, regenerating. I go back to first tower on the bottom road, maybe in the woods", he said and left. He didn't want to hear the Demon Witch shouting at him, especially since he was right.

After arriving, he scanned the items from the merchant, realizing that he had way too little money. He should build something with the Morbid Mask and he needed to enhance his sword to do more damage. But with the mask he wanted to build the Mask of Madness, because it gave him attack speed for a while as well. And regardless what he wanted to buy for his sword, it was all too expensive. Shit, he needed to kill someone. Or at least something.

He decided to check on their tower and then go into the woods.

The tower still stood and had not taken much damage. Only the man with the lightning was there, the other one nowhere to be seen. Lion wasn't there either, maybe placing wards or helping top. They definitely needed help there.

He started fighting against the soldiers, trying to avoid the lash of the whip. It was working okay. Though he was hit several times, he didn't get too much damage and was able to kill some of the soldiers. Occasionally he stayed back, to push not too far, otherwise he would have his back wide open to an attack out of the woods. He had no vision there, didn't see if someone was sneaking around under the trees. It was going back and forth like that, sometime gaining ground, and then losing it again. But in doing so he was able to make enough money, to buy the upgrade for his Morbid Mask, using the delivery service again. The Cleave from his sword did help in making the last hit to get the extra money for the kill.

A few minutes later, he saw Lion coming through the woods. At the same time, three more enemy heroes appeared on the road next to the man with the lightning. The man with the curving blade and the two from the top road. The fire woman was not with them. Shit, against those four they had no chance. He backed away, behind the tower and Lion joined him.

"I had hoped we could get one here, but obviously we are outnumbered. The Fairy Dragon is on his way, though, as well as the Warlock. We just have to slow them down a bit", he said, as he stopped by his side.

Sven nodded. "We have two stuns. We can take them out under the tower, giving us the advantage of the fire power of the building. Do you know if one of them can stun us? I haven't seen the fire women. She immobilized me on the top road."

"Yes, the scarab can. And you should not attack him while he is spiked. That will stun you as well. With the other three I haven´t seen anything yet. Be careful and it will go well. We don't necessarily have to kill them. If we drive them away it will be enough for now. Or if we slow them down."

A giant round saw blade came flying through the trees, stopping a foot behind the tower, where they were standing, spinning. It hit them both, damaging and slowing. Not very pleasant. They parted, Sven to the right side of the road and Lion to the left. That was when disaster happened. From behind the trees spikes shot from the earth, similar to the ones Lion could cast, hurling the Demon Witch into the air and stunning him. At the same time, the enemy soldiers approached into tower range, three heroes with them. The fourth, the scarab, had to be the one who had cast the spikes and who was now advancing on Lion. He had spikes coming out of his body, making him look like a hedgehog buck. Not attack while he is spiked, Lion had said.

The scarab assaulted his support, but Sven could do nothing to help him. So he did the next best thing and threw, like they had discussed, his Storm Hammer as soon as all three had stepped into the shooting range of the tower. With his War Cry on his lips, summoning the Rouge Strength from his body and his Mask of Madness, he charged the immobilized men in front of the tower. He was strong and he was fast, his sword cleaving through the enemy and killing all soldiers even before the stun could fade. The only problem was, now he was facing three heroes, only the lightning man injured enough to fall back. But not without casting a ring of electricity, which rolled over and through him.

Still two against one and no knowledge about what was happening at his back. No stun and only his armour and shield to protect him from incoming strikes. And still lightning bolts were hitting him. The lightning man had only retreated far enough to avoid Sven's hits but he was still near enough to throw those bolts at him.

Sven's blows were hard, doing much damage, but the effect of the Mask of Madness vanished and he was slow again. And soon the Rogue Strength and the enhanced armour from his War Cry would fade, too. What was Lion doing? And where were the other two? He could feel the injuries on his body, the wounds the enemy was inflicting. The two men were strong, not as easily taken down as the archer woman and the fire spirit. And it seemed as if he would get no help. He would not be able to kill them. Which left only one other option: he had to escape. Back to the safe zone, regenerate and regroup with the others, then head out again. He turned and almost stopped again. Now he knew why his support hadn't helped him. He lay between the first trees of the woods. Sprawled on the ground, blood seeping from numerous wounds, he was clearly dead. Shit. Sven started running in the direction of the town. He couldn't help the Demon Witch anymore, better to stay alive by running back to regenerate.

But after a few steps he heard a loud crash and, looking back, he saw a big burning rock, which had hit the area of the tower, transform into a flaming golem. The two enemies, who were still standing under the tower but had been on their way to pursuit him, were stunned from the impact and had taken much damage from the rock. No wonder, it was huge and he didn´t want to get such a thing on his head. But now it didn´t look so bad anymore and he even had enough mana to throw a Hammer again. God, he liked stuns.

He turned around and charged the enemy and this time he got help from the Fairy Dragon, who had conjured the orb, in which he could transport himself, to appear between the two men. He cast the sparkle things again and together with his Cleave and the attack of the advancing Warlock they got them down really quick. The Warlock even had something to heal him. The final blow was delivered by his Storm Hammer, which he had preserved for the end, when they would try to retreat.

The man with the lightning whip got away and there was no sign from the scarab. But they had killed two of them. Now they had to push forward. The next wave of soldiers had reached them and together they were able to gain ground and get some good hits against the enemy tower. They saw no other hero but retreated, because they were all out of mana and the Warlock and the Fairy Dragon were no big help when they were not able to cast their spells. They left the golem to destroy the tower and together with the soldiers it succeeded. They heard the fall of the building, the loud crash, just as it vanished from their view. One tower down.

Sven walked back to where Lion had been lying, but when he got there, only a pool of blood told about his cruel fate. That was how it worked for them. You could never be sure when the enemy would get you. Even in the shadow of the tower you were still vulnerable enough for them to kill you.

Sven was alone again and decided to roam the woods and then make his way to the middle or top road. First he wanted to buy the most expensive piece for the enhancement of his sword. Getting the kills for the two heroes had given him a massive gold bonus.

It was mindless work, killing beasts under the trees, but he got experience and money. Both were essential for his survival and it wasn't as dangerous as fighting against enemy heroes. Or destroying towers. Because unless they had wards placed in the woods the enemy wasn't able to see you.

Arriving at first tower on the middle road, there was nothing going on. Only the soldiers were fighting, their feet standing in the current of the stream. He helped to kill this one wave, waited until they reached the tower, using their vision to survey the surrounding of the building. But he saw nothing. Maybe they were all still regenerating. Or they were gathering on one of the other roads. He ventured on to the top road and sure enough, soon he heard the noise of fighting. He felt a little alone without his support, knew he should not travel alone.

He decided to take a longer route and not the one through the stream, to have better vision on the tower and to see what was happening before he engaged. No use in going into a fight alone. He left the stream, stayed under the trees and, passing another neutral merchant on a clearing inside the smaller forest next to the top road, saw the tower coming into view. In front of it was the fire woman, floating in the air and hurling fire balls at soldiers at high speed, only stopping to throw a wave of fire. She was alone, no one else in sight.

He could stun her, she was under the tower, and even if she was be able to do much damage with her fire, Sven was sure she was not strong. If he could strike her only two or three times, with the help of the tower and the damage from his Storm Hammer, she would be dead. But as he watched her, going throw the steps he had to act out, he realized he couldn't do it. He managed to raise the hammer, ready to charge as soon as it hit, but he couldn't throw it. He just stood there and stared at her, his sword and hammer ready to attack, but frozen in place.

God, she was incredible. She moved with such a grace, the fire licking over her palms but doing no damage, her skin creamy and soft looking. She seemed totally at easy, several times scanning her surroundings, but absolutely sure of herself and her abilities. He was captivated again, just like before, as if she was the only thing that mattered at the moment. As if she was the most important thing in the world. His body wouldn't listen as his mind shouted to attack, to take this easy kill. It had a mind of its own suddenly and now he noticed how it reacted to this beautiful woman. His blood was pounding faster through his veins, his muscles tensed and he felt a fierce desire piercing his body.

Involuntarily he took a step forward and emerged from behind the trees. The hammer still in one hand, his sword gripped tight in the other he had his gaze fixed solely on her. Maybe, though he didn´t know why, he couldn't hurt her, but he sure as hell could make her leave the tower be. He was stronger and he had the advantage of the building. She had no chance if she stayed. And she had to know that. He tempered the responses of his body to the fire woman down, focusing on the problem that her attack on the tower posed and shoving these strange reactions as far away as he could.

She saw him and stopped firing. For each step he took towards her, she took a step (did one say step if it was more of a floating?) back, as if she wanted to stay out of his reach or as if she was afraid of him, though her face betrayed no such feelings. She didn't even seem surprised by his appearance. Her palms balanced the flames, her eyes taking him in. They narrowed on his hammer and sword, still ready to strike but then returned to his face, which was shielded from her eyes by his helmet.

"Come on", she taunted. "Attack me if you want. We will see who ends up being the winner!"

Sven shook his head. "I don't want to hurt you. Just stay away from the tower."

"What? You think I can't take you? Or you afraid of losing?" Maybe she had backup somewhere in the woods behind her. Or she was really that good with her abilities. He had just seen her fight once, so maybe she was right to be that confident. One way or the other, it didn't matter. Even if neither was the case, he wouldn't attack her.

Sven shook his head again. Then he lowered his sword and discarded the hammer. Hell if he knew why he could not fight against her and although his mind was screaming at him to attack and take this fucking opportunity, he just couldn't throw that damn hammer. She was the enemy, had only seconds earlier killed some of their soldiers and attacked their tower but that didn't matter to his body. And since it wouldn't listen to his mind he just stood there, his eyes never straying from her form.

He noticed only vaguely that the tower had killed all the enemy soldiers and nobody was left except the woman and him.

Damn. If he was not able to fight against her, he had to leave. Make somebody else take the place at first tower on the top road and head back to one of the other roads. Lucky enough two heroes were approaching, one of them the Warlock. He gave them a curt nod and vanished under the trees from which he had come. He took the same way back as he had come, meeting the Fairy Dragon briefly in the middle. He had two enemy heroes against him, but told him he was good. Sven only threw his Storm Hammer in passing and went on. He was confused and his mind was absent, going through this previous encounter with the fire woman.

He killed the beasts in the woods while passing by, without giving them another thought and then checked on the first tower on his road. No problem there, the soldiers did their work and a new hero, a troll, had arrived, to hold the road against the lightning man without pushing too far. The enemy tower on the road was already down, now they had to take one of the other first towers before going for second tower on the bottom road. It was safer such; otherwise it would be way too easy for the enemy to appear at their backs and take them out where they didn´t expect it.

Sven decided to kill some time in the woods again, but soon no beasts were to be found anymore and he had to look for another way to get experience and money. And to get his mind of some woman in red. Maybe he could kill the one hero on the bottom road together with the troll. He should have thought of that sooner, because the troll was alone now, no enemy hero to be seen. Not good. That could only mean that they were ganking now.

"Troll, come, we have to check on the others. Nothing to do down here anyway", he called to the hero and together they made their way up (again). This running around was making him crazy. He had to stay in one place sometime. One of the other two roads, to destroy the tower there. That should be his next goal. First he had to check the abilities of his companion, to get an overview of what to expect from him.

"Troll, what can you do? Some stun by chance?"

"First, it is Troll Warlord. I'm no mere peasant. And second, no, I don't stun. Have a bash though, when I get near enough to use my axes as melee weapons. And I do a lot of damage when staying focused on one target. Enough that?"

Wow, arrogant bastard. Well, if he was good at fighting he could be as arrogant as he wanted to be. "Has to be sufficient. I can stun. So when I throw my Storm Hammer you have to engage because I will as well. You will be able to get near enough to bash them."

Running through the woods Sven realized how poor their vision was. The ward at the stream had long ago expired and since Lion was dead nobody had bothered to buy new ones. Damn, he needed a support or he had to buy them. But without observing the ways up from the stream into the woods it was too risky to roam there alone. Maybe the enemy had put up some wards and saw him being alone. They would immediately take such a chance to kill a hero. It would be an easy kill for them, one against four or five. He didn't bother to ask the Troll "Warlord – I´m – no – mere – peasant". He would get some, they couldn't be that expensive.

They could hear the noise long before they could see first tower. They stayed a little back and emerged from the trees a few feet behind the building. Seeing what was going on, it was for the best. The Fairy Dragon was dead even though he had stayed behind the tower. His body was lying close to where they had left the trees, covered with cuts and burn wounds, the fatal one a big charred hole in his chest.

The three enemy heroes, the lightning man and two new ones, were hitting at the tower together with their soldiers. The next wave of allied soldiers was still too far behind to be seen. Sven didn´t think they should engage. Sure, the one riding on some beast, though apparently a knight, seemed not very strong. But additionally he commanded two more beasts, each on their own no problem, but together surely not easy to defeat. Ant the third one, no man but a skeleton, wielded a sword nearly as big as Sven's.

He knew that their tower would fall if they didn´t do something soon, but dying would not help to save the building.

Then he saw the Warlock and without further thinking he charged. He relied on the Warlock doing the same as at first tower on the bottom road. And he didn´t disappoint him. He threw his Storm Hammer and with the first sweep of his sword hit the skeleton square across his chest. His Cleave carried the damage outward and then the rock from the Warlock struck.

Sven decided to go for the knight with the beasts first, leaving the skeleton for the Troll Warlord to deal with. He had said he did much damage so he should be able to kill a stunned skeleton. And just like he had suspected, the knight he was now fighting (well, it was more of a slaughter, since it was not really fighting with an immobilized opponent), was killed quickly. Only the man with the lightning whip was too fast and ran as soon as he could move again. He didn't even begin to pursue him.

Suddenly Sven had the feeling as if moving through some thick liquid, only able to move very slowly. And when he turned he saw the skeleton, emerging fully healed from his own bones again. Before he could react he was stunned by a fire blast and the skeleton rushed past him, following the lightning man, who was waiting a few steps behind his own tower.

As he could move again he looked at the Troll Warlord. "You killed him?"

"'Course I did. But seems he can resurrect. Wonder how often he can do that. Nasty thing. And slowing while doing it." He shook his head. "Should try to get the tower though. Got one down, have the advantage of numbers now."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that", the Warlock said. "We had the scarab top, but he vanished. I suspect he can make himself invisible. Could be he is running around somewhere here so we should be careful. But let's get the tower anyway, my golem is of good use. Who was at the middle road before you arrived? The Fairy Dragon?"

"Yes. But he is dead. Though he stayed behind the tower. After I felt the blast from the skeleton I think that is what killed him", Sven said while going after the golem to destroy the tower. The next wave of soldiers had arrived, enemy and their own, so first he cleaved through them. The skeleton and the lightning man stayed back, both injured. They got the tower and headed back, leaving the golem with the soldiers. Their own tower was nearly down and they decided to destroy it before the enemy could do it. Because the destruction of the towers gave extra money as well, they made sure their opponents couldn't get the money by taking their own tower down.

"Good", the Warlock said. "Two towers down. Now we should go to the top road and get the one there. But beware of the fire woman. She does much damage. And the scarab has to scuttle around here somewhere as well. I've put a ward up there but it can't detect invisible units."

Shit, Sven thought, his steps slowing. He couldn't fight against the woman. But he couldn't skirt the battle. That left him with the only one other option: fight, but not hit the woman.

"We should gank her, then. Go through the woods and get her from behind", the Troll Warlord said.

Sven stopped. If they did that, he could not avoid going for her. The others would expect it, as was their right. He was the tank here, he had to go in first and stun her. Shit, shit, double shit.

"The scarab", he whispered. That was the solution. "We can't do that, we don't know where the scarab is. And maybe they have wards there and see us coming."

The two were looking at him. "But we are still three against two. And we have your stun", the Troll said.

"Still too risky. I won't do it." Sven followed the stream, ignoring the rumbling of the Troll behind him. Of course they would have gotten the woman. The scarab as well, if he would have appeared. But he didn't want to kill her. He still didn't know why, but he wouldn't do it.


	4. Chapter 3

The allied hero they met on the top road, looking like a stone or earth golem, seemed okay so far and Sven finished the enhancement of his sword. Now it was able to deal critical hits, doing more damage and giving him more life back, because of the use of the Mask of Madness. Just as the Warlock had said, the fire woman was there and the scarab was as well. They started fighting alongside their soldiers, keeping the upper hand on the road since they had the advantage of numbers.

It didn't stay that way of course. A second woman appeared, riding a huge cat and shooting arrows. She was beautiful as well and Sven wondered if he would have the same problem hurting her that he had with the fire woman. He didn't think so though, because in contrast to the woman in red, he didn't feel the same kind of fascination and wasn't as captivated by her. Her beauty didn't faze him the least. And his body didn't react the tiniest bit when he looked at her. Not like it did when his eyes strayed to the fire woman. He stared at the archer anyway, trying to determine why he didn't feel anything though she really was beautiful. Her brown hair was tumbling down her back, her blue eyes were shining and her skin was pale. She wore boots and something that covered her torso up to her breasts but left her arms and thighs bare. She had nice curves, which were clearly visible because of the tight-fitting clothes she wore. And she was shooting her arrows with precision, her posture sure and sexy. But though her breasts were pushed upward against her clothes, showing of her cleavage, every time she made a shot, it did nothing for him.

Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the fire woman watching him watch the archer woman on the cat. As if she wanted to see his reaction to her. Was she wondering the same as he, that he wasn't able to hurt a beautiful woman? Well, he would prove to her and himself that it had nothing to do with that. He would kill the archer woman, especially since she had started shooting her arrows at him!

For a second he locked gazes with the fire woman, letting her see his intent before he shouted his War Cry, the only sign he gave his allies before storming forward and throwing his Hammer. It hit cat and woman both before they realized what was happening. The fire woman had reacted fast. She had known what he would do and had backed away. But only enough to escape his stun and now cast the column of flames, which immobilized him. The Warlock cast his healing and the stone golem shot some images of him forward. They were made of stone and it seemed to hurt to connect with them. He was not reluctant to hurt any of the enemy heroes, because the first image rammed the fire woman. The scarab, somewhere on his right, cast his spikes, both the ones from the earth, stunning him, and the ones around him. And then the cat archer started moving again, put an arrow in her bow, took aim and hit him square in the chest. It was some form of enhanced arrow, because it stunned, as well. Damn, he was standing there, unable to move for minimum seven seconds. He was really glad the Warlock had healed him and that the enemy wasn't fighting against him, just stunning and then escaping behind their tower. Or in the case of the scarab, somewhere into the woods.

Shit, that hadn't gone very well. But it had at least confirmed that he was able to fight against a woman, even if she was beautiful. Because it meant nothing. They were warriors, beautiful or not, trained to fight. And they would fight him, as he had seen with the fire woman. She had cast flames at him, even if he had not attacked her.

"Man, you have to tell us when you plan to rush them. What do you think we area, mind readers?" The Troll stood next to him, staring after the retreating women. "Well, we'll stay here, try that again. Have to get that tower. They will come again and we'll get a second chance for killing them. Warlock, what's your golem doing? Able to cast him again?"

"In a few seconds he will be ready. I will tell you when. And Sven, you should focus on the fire woman next time. She is far more deadly than the others."

Yeah, he knew that.

They waited for the next wave of soldiers and followed them forward. The Warlock placed a ward on the junction of two paths in the woods, to give them vision. He even bought a second kind of ward that made invisible units visible. They stayed back until the delivery service had brought them and the Warlock had placed them next to the normal ward.

And it was the best thing they could have done, because just a few seconds later they saw not only an invisible scarab, but the women and the skeleton as well. Only the man with the lightning whip was missing. But all four were invisible and trying to get behind their backs to surprise them. That would not happen.

Sven cast a questioning glance at the Warlock, who nodded. His golem was ready. They went forward a few more steps, waiting until the first enemy had left the trees, pretending they hadn't seen them. Then all hell broke loose.

Just as the skeleton raised his hands to cast the fire blast, Sven turned around and threw his Storm Hammer, his War Cry and the summoning of his Rogue Strength followed. The Warlock wasted no time casting the flaming rock, from which his golem would emerge. The two women had been outside the range of his Hammer, realizing immediately that they had been spotted somehow and turning around. The scarab was not that lucky. With first the hammer and then the flaming rock hitting him it took only a few strikes from the Troll "Warlord – I – do – a – lot – of – damage" for him to die. With the women out of range that only left the skeleton. Sven didn't see what the stone golem or the Warlock with his cast golem were doing, maybe they were trying to get one of the women, but since none of them hit him with either arrow or fire, they must do something.

He and the Troll fought the skeleton. Which was no easy job. The first time to kill him was easy, but when he resurrected, they were slowed just like the last time and Sven still had some seconds, before he could throw his Hammer again. That meant no stunning him and the skeleton had some nasty life steal, which made it hard to get him down. And he had his fire blast, which he first cast at him. Now unable to move, he saw the Troll doing damage, but the skeleton, though slow with his sword, was strong and the weapon struck hard. When he could finally move again, the Troll was nearly dead and had already started to move back towards the tower, the skeleton following him. Lucky enough, the Troll was faster and finally Sven could use his stun again. Immobilized, without being able to use his life steal, the damage from Sven's sword did it. The Troll turned again as he realized he wasn't being followed anymore and used his axes as ranged weapons, throwing them at the skeleton. This time when he died he didn't resurrect. Sven took a deep breath and turned around, looking for the other two. The Troll went back to town to regenerate immediately but aside from the fact he had no mana Sven was fine.

He waited for the next wave of soldiers before going in the direction of first tower from the enemy again. There he saw the golem from the Warlock but no sign of any hero. He killed the enemy soldiers then, to give their own and the golem the chance to destroy the building but headed back before it crashed, too wary alone under an enemy tower. He waited at the entrance to the woods until he saw the stone golem, heavily wounded, coming into vision range of the ward.

"Warlock's dead", he rasped and without further comment went on in the direction of their town.

Shit, there was the next support gone. He only hoped the new one was not such an arrogant ass as the troll but a nice and helpful support gain.

With two heroes regenerating, one dead and one presumably on one of the other roads, hopefully still alive or better still, killing the lightning man, he was alone for the moment. But they had killed two and the women had to be injured and were surely regenerating as well. That left only one enemy hero at present and Sven decided to take the chance and kill the beasts in the woods up here. Of course it was more likely to encounter an enemy here than it was in the woods at the bottom road but he was strong and soon he would have enough mana again to throw his Storm Hammer. If he wasn't ganked by four or five, he was confident he would be able to get away.

Moving through the woods he stayed near the stream, making sure to know where the fastest way to escape was. Nothing happened and he was already on his way to the middle when he saw her. The light streaming through the leaves of the trees made her red-brown hair shine and the necklace around her throat sparkle. She stopped mid step (or mid float?) when she saw him. Her face showing nothing of what she might think she took him in, from his boots along his armour to his helmet and his sword, casually resting with its blade on his shoulder, clearly not ready to attack immediately. Sven didn't move, didn't want to scare her (though he didn't think she would be scared easily). Her first move when she had seen him had been to raise her hands, flames licking over the palms, luminous in the dark forest. Now she lowered them, the fire not extinguishing but only remaining as a tiny spark.

They stood like that, staring at each other, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for the other to make the first move.

"What's your name?" Sven finally asked her. His voice sounded a bit rough in his own ears and hollow through the steel of the helmet. In battle he was proud of that voice because he could be heard over the whole field, scaring enemies with his War Cry. But now he didn't want to sound like a warrior. He wanted to sound like a normal man and he debated briefly if he should put down his helmet. But that was too risky considering four enemy heroes could appear every second. And a dangerous woman with fire in her palms was standing in front of him.

She didn't answer for a few seconds, only looking at him, seizing him up and surly wondering why he would ask such a strange question. What would the name of his enemy gain him? Nothing.

"Lina." She turned and disappeared between the trees, her skirt flowing behind her.

Her name resonated through his body while the vision of her had branded itself inside his brain. Here at this place, with the sunlight coming in streams through the trees and shadows flickering over her delicate skin, the fire in her hands shimmering orange and yellow. Her skirt moving in a light breeze, making the tiniest sound while caressing her legs and her hair flowing around her face. Her head held high, confidence in her eyes but maybe also a little curiosity.

God, she was breath-taking. And she had told him her name. A smile played around his mouth as he continued on his way. Lina.

Suddenly his smile vanished. What was he doing? She was the enemy! Had killed the Warlock or had played a part in it. And she had taken part in the ambush that would have gotten them killed had they not seen it coming. She wouldn't take it easy on him so he should not spare her. But then she hadn't attacked him in the woods, had even lowered her hands as a tiny sign of a truce between them. And she could have done it. He was sure she had seen him first, could have stunned him, maybe she could have called for enforcement. He didn't think she would be roaming the forest alone, not with him being there. Or she was so sure of him not hurting her that she wasn't afraid of encountering him. But that would have given her only an advantage when attacking him. If she was sure he wouldn't hurt her, why did she not kill him? She didn't even try. He didn't dare hope but maybe, just maybe, she felt a little bit of what he felt towards her. Or she was just indifferent. God, this was making him crazy!

Sven advanced the middle road through the stream. Not the safest way but he was sure he could handle whatever might come. On the road he didn't see anything and went in the direction of their town. If the soldiers gained ground and were fighting further in the direction of the enemy he wouldn't go there alone and if they had lost ground he could help by coming in from the back of the enemy. Sure enough, soon he could see lightning flashing in front of him. Damn it, he really did not want to get zapped in his armor. But if the lightning man had been able to push that far forward he was probably already attacking second tower on the road. And that was nothing he would tolerate. He entered the woods, keeping in the shadows of the trees so not to alert the enemy of his presence too soon and to get a hold of the situation before attacking.

It seemed like an easy kill. Only the one man was there, one of his allied heroes, some kind of dragon, was spitting toxin at the soldiers, but stayed out of reach of the lightning. Sven, having gained enough mana for all his abilities, charged forward, threw his Storm Hammer, shouted his War Cry and let his sword crash down on the visibly surprised enemy. The dragon now changed his focus, spitting a green ball (surely poisonous) at the lightning man. With his Cleave taking down the enemy soldiers, it only took seconds and the lightning man was the only enemy remaining. The stun didn't last long enough and he was able to cast some spells, which included lots of lightning. Lightning bolts and a lightning wave and the lash of his whip. Damn that hurt. But as soon as the man was dead, nearly split in half by his sword and signs from the dragons poison all over his skin as he fell to the ground, the lightning died away as well. Sven shuddered and headed into town. He wanted to regenerate and buy something. More damage for his weapon or better armour.

"Thank you", the dragon shouted and followed the soldiers along the road.

That had been an easy kill. Stupid of the lightning man to go alone this far into enemy territory. But Sven was more than glad to be rid of the lightning. How he hated it.

Standing in front of the merchants he browsed the wares. He had a simple shield but did not want to put more money into a better one, just like with the Ring of Basilus. It just wasn't worth it. He had the Mask of Madness, finished as it was and the shoes. Then he had Crystalys, to enhance his sword with more damage and critical hits. He could upgrade Crystalys or start crafting better armour. Or he could improve his life by buying something to get stronger.

He wasn't sure but maybe he should buy one of the Boosters first. It was only available at one of the shops from a neutral merchant, so he went there. It would bring him to first tower on the top road and though he had wanted to check on first tower on the bottom road, since it was the one where he had been assigned to at first, he would check the top road and then head bottom, killing the beasts in the woods on the way.

At the shop he also saw the next item he needed for more strength and decided he would take it as soon as he had enough money. It would give him an extreme boost in strength, called Reaver. He studied it a few moments, revelling in the strength he thought he could feel emanating from the item.

The first thing he saw on the top road was Lina. She stood way behind her soldiers, far out of range of the two heroes fighting there. One was the stone golem and the second was a mage (definitely a mage with that staff) with great white wings, keeping him floating above the ground. Which made him realize he had no idea, how the fire woman managed to float. She had no wings. But how could manipulating fire make someone able to fly? Or even float?

Lina had been able to gain back the ground they had lost earlier. She did much damage, being able to push alone all the time, killing heroes with some kind of fire bolt. The Warlock had definitely been afraid of her. And as it seemed he had been right. She was alone though, staying behind the soldiers, doing nothing except watching them. Maybe she was waiting for help but no other hero came. That made Sven uneasy. If Lina was alone here, the others had to be at one of the other towers. And unless the Troll Warlord had joined the dragon on the middle road they were both alone. Against possibly four enemy heroes.

"We have to gather the other two", Sven said. "We have to stick together or they will gank us. They have this going invisible with which they tried to surprise us before. I don't know who was able to do that but we have to expect it. Let her be", he pointed to the fire woman and then went down to the stream in the direction of the middle road.

"Wait", the mage called. "Why not kill her first. She is alone and we are three."

"She is too fast and she is expecting it. She will be gone with the first step we take too close to her", he answered. It didn't matter that he didn't want to attack her because what he said was probably right nonetheless. She was fast and she would be gone.

On the middle road only soldiers were fighting. They were on their side of the stream but only barely. Nothing to do here.

They went through the woods now, the way through the stream too dangerous. They found the dragon, killing some beasts. He joined them and together they neared first tower on the bottom road. Or the place where it should have been. Because the tower wasn't standing anymore. They followed the road back to their town and only a few feet in front of second tower they found the fight.

The Troll Warlord was still alive but he needed help badly because right that second one of the enemy heroes ventured past the tower, heedless of it shooting at him. It was an animal hero with a giant totem in his hands, or paws, with which he slammed on the ground to make the earth shake. It stunned the Troll and the archer on the cat used his immobility to shoot at him. She aimed the arrow that had the stunning effect but the earth golem had already cast one of his images to kick it forward. It hit the archer woman before she could let the arrow loose. It only took a few seconds for the golem to place five more of his stone images around and through the enemies. But now they reacted as well. The animal continued hitting at the Troll Warlord, who had absolutely no chance to counterattack. But Sven could do nothing about that now. He was too far away so he had to take the others, the cat archer and a demon with horns and the frame of some really big wings on his back. But just as he wanted to throw his Storm Hammer, the demon cast a spell, which rendered him unable to do anything except swing his sword. No Storm Hammer, no War Cry and no enhancing his strength. And he was getting damage over time.

Next a cloud of purple smoke erupted around them, making the other two unable to cast magic as well. The effect vanished as soon as they left the area of the cloud but it left them confused for a few seconds, enough for the enemy to take matters into their hands and attack them. The animal hero was still fighting against the Troll Warlord, who was now able to move again. Though it would gain him nothing, because his injuries were too great and the totem of the earth shaking animal was a mighty weapon. As sad as it was it made the odds better for Sven and the other three, who now had to face only the demon and the archer woman. The dragon did his poison spitting, hitting first the cat woman, who was nearest and then switched his focus, probably to poison them both. The earth golem transformed into a rolling rock as soon as he left the purple cloud, aiming for the demon. Sven definitely was slower than the dragon, who was able to do ranged attacks, and the rolling boulder the golem had become. Sven didn't see the mage but since he did ranged attacks as well he should be somewhere behind them.

Sven still had the strange taking-damage-and-not-being-able-to-cast-his-abilities effect on him but he sure had his sword to do damage as well. He went for the woman first but she called falling stars from the sky and then turned and bounced away, jumping above the trees and vanishing into the woods. Which left the animal and the demon. The latter seemed to be really strong since both the dragon and the earth golem ware attacking him and he was still standing nearly unaffected. But now Sven joined them. He considered going for the earth shaker first but since the Troll died the second he was near enough to bring his sword down on the demon he didn't see the point.

His Mask of Madness gave him enough attack speed to finally take down the winged demon with the help of the other two. Just after their final blow, the demon crumpling into a pile of black mass, the animal hero hit the ground with his totem, making the earth shake and a string of rocks hitting them, stunning all three of them. Then he ran into the woods. The dragon wanted to follow him but just as he moved forward, the enhanced arrow of the cat archer hit him. Damn woman, must be hiding somewhere in the trees. They wouldn't get those two since they had a good head start. Sven turned around, realizing he hadn't seen the mage the whole fight.

There was a fourth hero, a blue and purple little satyr with a knife in each hand, following the mage, who was trying to get to the safety of the tower. It seemed a lost cause because the assassin disappeared just to reappear at the back of the mage and lifted his two knifes to stab him between his shoulder blades and to deliver the death blow. Sven reacted out of pure instinct as he threw his Storm Hammer, finally able to cast it again. It knocked the assassin right from the back of the mage, saving his life. The others reacted nearly as quickly and even the mage turned again, casting one of his spells at the enemy hero. It only lasted a second or two, with the stun keeping him in place he had no chance at all against the four of them. They virtually shredded him into pieces.

The fight was over and Sven only hoped the other to enemy heroes were gone. Because if the cat archer shot one of her enhanced arrows at the mage or even the earth golem, they would be dead instantly. Lucky for them they all reached the safety of their town.

It had not been a bad fight, sure the Troll Warlord hadn't survived but they had saved the tower and gotten two of the enemy heroes as well. Someone had to go back to the tower to make sure the soldiers were able to push the enemy soldiers far enough away from the building but first priority was to get all of them into the safe zone to regenerate.

That done they should regroup and then try to destroy the second tower on one of the roads. Preferably not the road where Lina was.


	5. Chapter 4

They discussed shortly where to go, some of them buying items and together they went to the middle road.

There had to be only three enemy heroes at present because they had not gotten a fifth hero yet and both towns had the same time intervals before getting a new hero after the death of one. That meant the enemy would not get their replacements before they had gotten one for the Troll Warlord. They used the time they had the advantage of numbers to kill all enemy soldiers on the middle road up to second tower. They even got some good hits on the building before they decided to head back. They would split, two checking on second tower on their bottom road, the dragon roaming the woods down there and Sven would check on first tower on the top road, killing the beasts in the woods on his way. He knew it was not the best idea to venture alone through the trees but he hoped to meet the fire woman again and if one of the other heroes was with him he couldn't talk to her. How would that look, him talking with the enemy instead of fighting?

And sure enough, as he had entered the forest he could see fire balls being thrown somewhere ahead of him. He kept in the shadows, keeping an eye on his surroundings, checking if a second hero was around. Maybe he should place a ward between the trees here. That way he had enough vision to see when someone was approaching and he could see where Lina was. Made him think about stalking, though, and he decided not to do it.

Lina didn't see him directly and he had a few seconds to admire her movements while she attacked the beast in front of her. God, she was gorgeous. And fast. If she attacked him with that tempo while he was stunned he would definitely take a lot of damage. Maybe she was right in her confidence. She sure didn't need to be afraid of him. Or of one of the other heroes. If she encountered one alone, she would defeat him. Unless she was stunned first, of course.

Stepping out of the shadow of the trees he approached her, his sword resting with its blade on his shoulder.

"Hey Lina." She turned around and he stopped, unsure of what to say or do next. He hadn't really thought about what he should do if he met her, only wanting to see her again.

She did that seizing up thing again, examining him from top to bottom, nothing on her face showing what she was thinking about him.

"You came here on purpose", she said.

"Yes, I did." No point in denying it. And why should he lie to her anyway? No matter how strange it sounded, he wanted to get to know her. Spend time with her.

"Why?"

Well, that was the question, wasn't it?

"You do realize we are enemies", she continued. "What do you think your fellow heroes would say if they knew you are not only talking to the enemy but seeking me out? And that you are protecting me? Because I am aware of the fact you didn't stun me when you had the chance to and that you didn't gank me, probably even talked them out of ganking me, when I was alone on the lane. Maybe you don't know it, but I will be one of the most dangerous damage dealers you can encounter if you let me get experience and gold the way you are doing. I will wipe you out."

"I don't think so. Least of all because I will stand against you and I won't go down easy. But that leaves the question, why don't you attack me? You definitely had the chance the last time here in the woods, you saw me first, and you had the element of surprise. And what about now?"

"I want to solve the puzzle you are first. It intrigues me that you avoid fighting me at any cost. At the beginning I wondered if it was because I'm an attractive woman. But I know you attacked the Princess of the Moon to show me it wasn't that. Good for you, because I eat superficial men for breakfast."

"You know, I did wonder the same. Before I saw you I never had to fight against a beautiful woman and you are without doubt the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. But it seems this dislike to fight and this allure I feel are totally linked to you. So, Lina, tell me something personal about you."

She hesitated. "I don't think we should do this. There is no way for this to end in a good way."

But she didn't leave. She just stared at him, maybe waiting for him to concede. Of course she was right but he didn't tell her that. He had this insane wish to get to know her, to learn something private about her. And since she didn't float away he thought maybe she was a little interested in him as well.

"Okay, then I will tell you something. I will answer your first question. I came here because I wanted to see you. I want to get to know you. I am drawn to you. Yes, you are attractive, very much so, but that is not all. I like that you are confident and proud. You know when to engage in a fight and when to stay behind. And you are strong. Not the best thing in an enemy, but you are definitely able to hold your own against an opponent. That all fascinates me to no end."

Nothing in Lina's face showed how she thought about this declaration. But she approached him, stopping only a few feet in front of him, her floating bringing her on eye level with him. If she stood with her feet on the ground she would only reach to his shoulder. She was small and though not scrawny she was slender and delicate. Her skin looked creamy and soft up close, showing white tattoos in her face, underlining her features. Her brown eyes had a light ember glow to them, as if a fire was smouldering inside or reflected in them, long dark lashes framing them.

His hands were itching to brush a strand of her red hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear.

God, he was a fool. But up close the pull he felt towards her was even stronger, the reaction of his body to her closeness nearly violent. He tried to dampen it down, though. No need in letting her see just how much he wanted her and how extreme his body hungered for a touch of those hands on his skin.

"I want to see your face."

Sven hesitated. Not only would he be more vulnerable against a suddenly appearing enemy without his helmet but he knew how he would look underneath. He was unshaved and dirty and sweaty from the fighting. He wasn't the most attractive man anyway but after a fight in the heavy armour he looked savage, unkempt and filthy. He wanted to make a good impression on the woman in front of him but as she kept looking at him expectantly he knew he couldn't refuse.

He nodded. "But I need your help. I can't open the fastening on my throat with my gloves on."

"No problem. Where is it?"

Sven lifted his chin, revealing the closing device of the helmet. She immediately began to open it with her elegant fingers, her finger nails painted the same red as her toe nails. She didn't take long and began to lift the helmet from his head.

"Careful, it's heavy", Sven said.

With the thing in both hands she floated back a little and examined him. Sven felt exposed under her assessing eyes, especially since he could not read anything from her expression. Was she disappointed?

"You are gorgeous", were her first words.

He raised his eyebrows. He hadn't expected that.

"Are you sure you are looking at me? Because I don't see anything gorgeous when I look into a mirror."

She laughed. It was a light laugh and it left him kind of frozen in place, stunned by her face, even more beautiful in her joy.

She cocked her head to one side a bit, taking in every detail in his face, her eyes sparkling. "Yeah, I'm definitely looking at you. Sad that you have to wear your helmet. Wait, maybe not so sad. Now I'm the only one who knows how you look like." She was still smiling. "I would have to compete with all those other women otherwise."

Suddenly her face closed up again, her whole body going rigid. He hadn't realized that she had relaxed somehow around him but he could see it now that she was tense again. She listened, and then lifted his helmet on his head.

"You have to go."

She closed the fastening, pulling a little at the device to check if it was properly closed afterwards.

Sven took a step back. "Until we meet again." He turned around but Lina stopped him with one hand on his shoulder. "Wait. I still don't know your name." Damn, he wanted to feel her hand on his body, not blocked by the steel of his armour.

"Sven", he said and left, because he could hear someone approaching now.

He went down to the stream near the middle road. But he still had to check on the first tower at the top road, like he had said he would. And then he had to meet the others.

First tower was down, which was in no way unexpected since Lina had been alone on this road, able to push the soldiers forward without having to fight against a hero. Should have been easy for her. Since the soldiers were too close to second tower for his liking, he helped them out a little. It took no time whatsoever, because his sword did a lot of damage to the normal soldiers, killing them within seconds. He waited for the next wave of enemy soldiers, killing them as well before making his way to the middle road. He was lucky because all four of his allied heroes had gathered there, to take down second tower of the enemy.

Their new hero was a scarcely clothed woman with light blue skin, tiny horns on her head and bat wings on her back. She didn't fly, though, but could teleport short distances.

"How is the bottom road looking?" Sven asked as they followed a wave of soldiers along the road.

The Mage answered. "Fine. We got the tower but backed off as we saw four enemy heroes approaching. What about top?"

"Our tower was down when I arrived. Nothing to do. I saw no enemy hero", Sven lied, "but I didn't think it a good idea to try to get second tower alone. In any case I pushed the soldiers away from our second tower. Were you able to see what the two new ones against us can do?"

The mage gave a short laugh. "We didn't wait that long. We were only two."

"We will find out, be prepared for everything", the dragon said.

"Or we will kill them before they can do anything", the demon woman said.

"Wow, bloodthirsty and full of confidence. Show us what you can, than" the golem murmured.

They could already see second tower, their soldiers entering the radius of its shooting range. The dragon and the mage stayed back a little, so they would not take all the damage in the fight, hoping they didn't encounter an assassin like the satyr in the previous fight. The woman scouted the ways into the woods on their left, the earth spirit placing his images all around the place. This left Sven to kill the enemy soldiers and help their own to attack the tower. It worked so far.

Just as the tower fell, a scream erupted from the woods. They turned and ran in the direction, seeing the demon woman nearly surrounded by five enemy heroes. They must have surprised her because she was near to death, but they had taken damage from her screams as well. Now she blinked behind them, leaving the injured heroes for them to fight. They didn't hesitate, charging in immediately, using the advantage that they had full health in contrast to the enemy.

"The earth shaker first!" Sven shouted, remembering the massive damage he had dealt with his totem and the shaking of the earth he had cast. True to his words, he threw his Storm Hammer, hitting not only the animal but the two heroes next to him, the cat archer and some strange creature, looking as if consisting only of water, as well. From the corner of his eye he could see Lina, sending wave after wave of fire at the heroes behind him. She didn't attack him and he didn't attack her. Yet. They would not be able to avoid it eternally. But for the moment he had no time to think about that, his whole focus on the heroes in front of him. Even though he hit the earth shaker, his cleave was so great, the cat woman got more damage than the animal hero. He could hear fighting at his back, someone attacking the fifth enemy hero, some bear, whom he could hear roar.

A hemisphere appeared above the heroes in front of him, raining down shards of light in tight succession. Together with his cleave and some other strange light things, which slowed them even as they were released from Sven's stun, they were killed easily. But as Sven turned around, pleased this had worked so well he was shocked for a second. The earth spirit was dead, gaping wounds in the form of claws covering his body, one straight across his throat, and a heavily injured dragon was trying to run away from the bear, who had somehow gained height and strength until the last time Sven had looked at him. The dragon was slowed though and Lina was firing fire balls at him as well. Sven and the mage reacted quickly, charging at the bear. The animal didn't waver from his focus, still pursuing the dragon, who was still much too slow to outrun the enemy hero. But now the demon woman, having regenerated a little, joined the fight again. And she focused on Lina, maybe wanting to get her to switch her focus. It didn't work, because she cast one of those columns of flames, which stunned. That was the end of the dragon, the last swipe of the bear's claws making the death blow and splattering blood everywhere. But now Sven's Storm Hammer was ready again and the bear, stunned and injured, because the golem and the dragon had given as much as they had taken, was killed by them. Four down, one to go. As Sven turned around he saw Lina floating away, clearly realizing they had lost that battle. He was relieved that she had survived but then the demon blinked in front of her, casting some wave and hurling a dagger at her. Damn, she would kill her!

"Back, demon!" Sven's shout was in his most commanding tone and really, the woman stopped and looked back at him. Lina took this chance, cast a column of flames at her and vanished in the dark of the trees.

The look on the face of the demon woman was deadly as she neared him.

"What do you think you were doing? I would have gotten that kill! You saved the ass of that bitch!"

Sven gritted his teeth at that insult aimed at Lina. God, how he wanted to hit the demon woman. But as much as he might hate it, he had to give a rational reason for calling her back.

"She is too strong. You are nearly down and the fire woman has some kind of magic, a very strong bolt, which kills you instantly."

"Well, she didn't do it. Maybe she had not enough mana otherwise I'm sure she would have taken the chance to get a kill." She raked his body with a sneer. "You are a coward. If you are afraid of dying it is your problem but don't project your issues onto me. I am the Queen of Pain, don't you ever interfere in one of my fights again." And with that she stalked away, head held high and her hips swaying seductively in her short pants.

Sven let out a sigh and looked in the direction Lina had vanished. Damn, that had been way too close for his liking. The thought of her dying had let the blood in his veins freeze and his heart stop beating. God, and it would happen again, as long as both hearts were standing in the two towns the heroes would meet again and again somewhere in between and fight until one team was wiped out or had run back into their safe zone.

"She is right, you know. She would have gotten the fire woman. Your interference could have even gotten her killed", the mage said.

"I know." Sven shouldered his heavy blade.

"But you did well with the three against you."

"Thanks to your help. I assume you did all that light things."

"That 'light things' is arcane magic, but I did it, yes." The mage was laughing a little, surely about him calling his magic 'light things'. "Want to try to get third tower while they are all dead? Or are you too afraid of the fire woman?" He raised his eyebrows inquiringly, a light and maybe even teasing tone in his voice.

Sven rolled his eyes, which the mage could probably not see behind the helmet. "Of course not. Let's go. We should get back before the new heroes arrive, though."

"No problem. I don't want to fight two versus five."

They destroyed the tower, a few times seeing Lina further back. She even cast her fire bolt with the massive damage at the mage and sure enough he was half dead afterwards.

They decided not to go for the first barracks but to head back.

"Damn, that really hurt", the mage said, rubbing over the spot where he had been hit. "If she'd hit the Queen of Pain with that bolt she definitely would have been dead. My guess is she had no mana left to cast it. Lucky for the Queen."

"I will stay up here and roam the woods. We have to destroy the tower on the top road anyway. You can come and get me on your way up when you have gathered with the two new heroes."

The mage gave him a strange look. "You like their woods better than ours for some reason."

Sven shrugged. "It's only convenient to stay here when we have to go to the top road anyway."

"Okay." The mage didn't look as if he believed him fully, but he headed into town anyway and left Sven standing there alone.

He began killing beasts, still a strange feeling located somewhere inside his chest. He wanted to see Lina so badly he even thought about going right into her town but that would definitely not be the wisest course of action. So he waited under the trees, killing the beasts that appeared and staying as close to the enemy town as he dared.

He saw her as soon as she entered the woods and ran towards her. She startled, lifting her hands with flames licking over her palms. But as she recognized him she let them drop to her sides, the fire dying down.

Sven tossed his sword on the ground and grabbed Lina on her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" His gazed travelled along her body, taking in every detail. Of course she was all right, she had been in the safe zone of her town, regenerating. But he had to make sure, had to touch her to assure himself she was alive and well.

"I'm okay. Thanks to you. And what about you? I can't imagine the others have taken it kind that you let me get away. Especially the demon woman. She looked as if she thrives from the pain of others."

"I don't care about them. But we have to do something about you. It is too easy to kill you. And the Queen of Pain can teleport. I'm afraid she will get you next time and I'm sure you will be her sole focus, since you got away once."

"She is called Queen of Pain? Really nice name." her tone was sarcastic. "So, what do you suggest we should do?"

"Have you heard of that creature, Roshan? It is supposed to drop an item, which can resurrect you. The resurrection will destroy it, which means it only works once. But I would go for that."

Sven was still holding Lina on her upper arms and now she lifted her hands, placing them on his armoured wrists.

"I have heard of it but it is strong. I won't be able to kill it on my own."

"I never said you had to do it alone. I'm strong enough to take its blows while you can attack it. I say it's worth a try."

"You would kill the creature, making it drop the stone of resurrection and then give it to me?"

"Absolutely."

"Don't you think your allies will get suspicious if I have gained that stone while all my allied heroes are dead?"

"I still don't care what they think. I only care about keeping you alive. And if I have to kill Roshan for you I will do it. But we should hurry. They are supposed to find me here in the woods when they make their way up the road to your second tower."

Sven picked up his sword and shouldered it again. Together they made their way to the pit where Roshan was supposed to live.

"Thank you for saving my life", Lina said. "And thank you for giving me such a huge gift. I owe you one."

Sven shook his head. "No, you don't owe me anything. It doesn't work that way. Besides, it is as much for me as it is for you. I wouldn't be able to fight if I had to look after you all the time, being worried about your life."

"I'm not that fragile, you know? I am able to fight and I can kill. That demon bitch was only lucky I was out of mana or I would have fried her on the spot." When Sven looked at her, Lina's eyes were blazing and her face showed anger, one of the first emotions he saw on her features.

"You think I deem you unable to fight?" Sven was surprised. "Woman, I have seen you, I know how much damage your fire does. And I also know that you could grill the Queen of Pain. But she will be able to surprise you and even I, especially if surprised by an enemy, can lose a fight. That has nothing to do with me thinking you are fragile. Or not able to fight. Because I do know you are."

"Good, otherwise I would have to show you."

Sven shuddered dramatically. "Heaven forbid. I definitely don't want to get zapped with your fire bolt. They are all afraid of it. I'm sure it hurts."

A slow smile spread across Lina's face, the fire in her eyes being replaced by something more like a glint. "Oh, it does hurt."

"Keep it for someone else, then, please." They had entered the pit of Roshan. The creature was huge, sharp teeth lining its mouth and sharp claws, as big as Sven's whole leg, coming from its fingertips. It had two bended horns and small eyes, framed by horned plates. Its body was covered in horned plate from feet to head and some remains from wings sprouted from its bent back. As soon as they entered the pit the creature rushed them and the fight began. They learned that the creature was immune to magic, but Sven had his War Cry and his Rogue Strength to enhance himself, though it didn't work on Lina, because she was an enemy. Her fire didn't work either, but casting it granted her more attack speed, therefore doing more damage on Roshan. Sven saw her fire balls coming in close succession and when the creature was only a few hits away from being killed, he turned, watching Lina fight. She moved so fast, her movements blurred in front of his eyes, and he was captivated by her grace and beauty. He had never seen a woman like her.

She killed the creature and sure enough it dropped a stone that looked like a flower. Lina took it and turned to him.

"You are breathtakingly beautiful", he said.

She stared at him for a second and then she laughed. "You are sweet. And definitely exaggerating."

"Definitely not. To both."

Smiling, she floating within touching distance and placed her hand on his helmet, where his cheek would be. "Maybe not exaggerating, then. But sweet. You made me the most wonderful gift one can get in our world full of fighting. And if you weren't wearing that stupid helmet", she rapped the steel with her knuckles, "I would give you a kiss for that."

Sven's heartbeat staggered and his eyes wandered to her moth, her lips parted and just a hint of her pink tongue visible. Damn it, why did he have to wear that stupid helmet? Merely the thought of those red lips against his own and the heat of her mouth, made the blood in his body burn and his heart race. Biting on her full lower lip she floated a step away from him but his gaze never left her face. She was attracted to him, he could see it in her eyes and he knew she would be able to see it in his. He had never wanted something as badly as he now wanted to kiss her.

For long moments they were staring at each other before they realized they were still in the pit of Roshan. And they had to get pack.

They parted ways near the middle road.

"I will see you on the top road. Be careful." With that she was gone.


	6. Chapter 5

Sven headed into the woods, dreading the next fight to come. His team would win, he was sure of that. He was too strong and the Queen of Pain, though arrogant, had some really strong abilities. The question was what would happen with Lina after they had destroyed the heart of her town?

No time to think about that now because his allied heroes had already gathered and were waiting for him in the woods near second tower.

The tower fell before an enemy came into sight.

They had only the towers at the entrances into the town on the bottom and the top road and the two towers in front of the heart left now. And if the team fight went well, they could take one more down before heading back.

Easier said than done. They didn't even have vision onto the higher ground of the town when a hero, half woman half fish, slithering on the ground, approached them. She was singing a beautiful song and before he could realize what was happening, Sven was in some kind of stasis, as were the others of his team. He had to watch as the enemy heroes positioned themselves around and between them, ready for battle. There was an ogre with two heads, the siren, still singing, Lina, a skeleton, much smaller than the two before, with a bow, equally made of bones and a burning arrow already pointing at one of them and a big green fish (he wasn't really sure but would say it was a fish) with legs and sharp teeth, like a piranha. When all stood in their places, the song continued for a second, giving the field something peaceful before the battle erupted with noise and chaos. The first spell that hit Sven were some kind of tentacles, coming from the ground all around him, stunning him and, as far as he could see, all the others as well. It seemed all the stuns were directed at him because as soon as he could move again the siren threw a net over him, making him unable to move and the ogre cast a spell, stunning him again. Just great. He only hoped they were out of stuns now, because otherwise he would be of no use to the others, only standing in the middle of the road, doing nothing. The only good thing was, he was strong and the stuns didn't do too much damage to him. Not good was how he had to watch the skeleton shoot one of them, a man who could bring lightning down from the skies. But he was only able to cast one great lightning that hit all enemy heroes and one more, directed at the skeleton, before he died. The others reacted as soon as they could move again. And since Sven bore the brunt of their stuns, they only had to await the end of the spell with the tentacles.

The mage illuminated the whole battle field with his arcane magic, casting bolts everywhere. The Queen of Pain, like he had predicted, teleported right in front of Lina, stunning her and attacking with all she had. The problem was, they had no focus, with the demon fighting against Lina, the mage hitting everyone he could get and Sven still stunned. The last one of their team shifted into a wolf and he would be the one to set the focus. Ignoring the Queen of Pain and Lina, he went for the ogre, calling two additional wolves as support. That left the siren and the giant fish going for him. The siren had duplicated and had three images, all four looking alike, making it impossible to discern the real one. Sven endured their hits. He had only to last over the stunning time. As soon as he could move again he would throw his Strom Hammer and, with his Mask of Madness and his Rogue Strength, would regain the life he had lost to their attacks. The effect faded, barely in time. But now his battle began and he was strong. Strong enough to get them all. Because of his Cleave the images of the siren fell away within seconds, leaving her standing without the cover they had provided. And since she bore no armour at all, she had needed that cover badly. Without it, he was able to cut her down really quickly, cutting her head from her slim shoulders with his final blow. Before he went for the fish man he checked the battle field. The wolf was doing a great job, though he had the skeleton on his heels, the mage was undisturbed and still sending bolts of magic after the enemies and Lina did hold her own against the Queen of Pain.

She was badly injured but she had the resurrection stone and the demon woman was badly injured as well. Though he knew she would resurrect, he couldn't watch the fight. Instead he shifted his attention back to the fish, since his stun faded, and he attacked him again. He was no easy opponent because he had some kind of shell all over his body, blocking some of the force of Sven's blows. But the mage seemed to support him and together they did enough damage.

Suddenly he felt behind him the slowing effect he recognized from the resurrection of the skeleton they had fought earlier in the war. That could only mean one thing: Lina had died. A shudder went through Sven. And she was now resurrected by the stone. But it also meant, she was fully regenerated now and would kill the Queen of Pain. Not that he cared much about the demon, but he didn't know what the Lycanthrope was doing and if he was still alive. Since they had already lost one allied hero and Sven was severely injured, maybe they should think about retreating. But not until they had eliminated that fish man in front of him. Because he was strong, way too strong for Sven's liking. The Queen of Pain teleported into his line of sight and shrieked, casting something Sven couldn't see. But it didn't help her any. A wave of fire hit her already scorched body and she crumpled into a charred heap of flesh, her wings burning even as she was already dead.

Whatever she had cast before her death had helped the mage and him though, and finally they were able to take the fish man down. God, that had not been an easy fight. Sven was breathing hard and hoped it was over, that he could head back into town and regenerate. The Lycanthrope, now in human form again, ran past them, in the direction of their town.

"Get back", he called before he disappeared in the woods. Sven turned around, looking for Lina. She was floating with her hands raised, fire still in her palms. She was looking in the direction the Lycan had vanished and Sven realized he didn't see the skeleton archer. Only the ogre lay on the ground where the Lycan had attacked him, his lifeless eyes staring into the sky. Since he was sure the wolf wouldn't flee as long as they were three against one, even if Lina had just resurrected and was fully regenerated, the damn archer had to be able to go invisible.

Lina switched her focus to the mage behind him and then to him. And without a single word she turned around and left.

Sven stared after her for a second or two, until the mage grabbed his shoulder. "We should take the chance to head back. Let's get to the shop on the side and by a Scroll of Town Portal to get faster into our safe zone. I'm sure the skeleton is still somewhere around here."

Back in the safe zone the mage had that strange look on his face again. "I wonder why the fire woman didn't attack us."

Sven just shrugged with his shoulders. It had been too close for his liking, the fight. He had to buy the Reaver, to get stronger. He only needed a little more money.

"You were nearly dead. It would have been no problem at all for her to kill you. And I was out of mana, I couldn't have helped you."

Sven ignored him, just trying to relax a fraction before he had to go into battle again.

"I wonder where she got the stone of resurrection. Because I am more than sure it was not an ability of hers to wake up from the dead. But she is definitely not strong enough to kill the creature Roshan alone and the other heroes from her team were all dead."

Ignoring didn't seem to work, since the mage now stepped into his space, addressing him directly. "You know, I have, in all the fights, never seen you attacking her or her attacking you. Don't you think it is strange? Why wouldn't you go for her first, since she would be an easy kill for you? And why would she not stun you with her column of flames? You are always roaming the woods near the road she was assigned to. You saved her life against the Queen of Pain. And then she had the resurrection stone, of which I'm sure you would have been able to get at. Even alone. I don't really believe those are all coincidences."

Sven stared at the mage. Damn, had he been too obvious? "You've got to be kidding me, if you accuse me of what I think you are." He turned away from the man, browsing the wares of the merchants even though he didn't want to buy anything from them. "Why should I spare one of the enemies? Or even give one a resurrection stone? You must be mad."

A long silence stretched between them. Finally the mage turned away. "If you say so." Without another word he left the safe zone, heading to the bottom road.

Sven left as well, going in the other direction to kill some beasts, buy the Reaver at the neutral merchants shop and then search for Lina. He didn't want to think about it, but she had been dead! He was only glad he hadn't looked her way when she had been killed. He was sure he would have done something really stupid. An image of her lifeless body lying on the ground floated through his mind. He shuddered and stopped, taking a deep breath, reminding himself that she was alive and well. Now he had to do something to improve his own strength, otherwise he would be the one to die. That wouldn't help Lina the least.

He found some beasts in the vicinity of the merchant and killing them provided him with enough money to get the Reaver. He felt better with the knowledge that he was stronger now. The blows with his sword would be harder and he would be tougher. He sold his Ring of Basilus to get additional gold and because he didn't need it anymore. It was more an item for the earlier battles, when they had less experience.

A little wary, because the skeleton archer might have the ability to go invisible, he crossed the stream and entered the woods at the top road. First he checked for the Lycanthrope, hoping he might have been able to outrun the archer, if he had really been on his trail. Nothing. One reason more to be extra careful.

Before he could approach the enemy town in hope of seeing Lina, she came floating towards him. She flung herself into his arms, hugging him tight. Sven was baffled but dropped his sword and returned the hug. Abruptly she tore free from his arms and stared at him, fire dancing through her eyes. "What did you think you were doing in that fight? Thought you could take them on all alone? You stupid man, you nearly got killed!" Her voice had gotten louder, and she shouted the last words, her eyes a burning orange and her hair had turned into flames, her whole body crackling and glowing, like she was on fire. She was definitely angry, well, more like furious, at him. A tiny smile appeared on Sven's face. She had feared for him.

Slowly he took his gloves off and dumped them beside his already discarded weapon. His hands now free, he opened the latch on his helmet and took it off. He laid the heavy thing on the ground and faced the flaming woman in front of him.

"I'm sorry", he said. He was sorry. He didn't want to scare her, or make her worry. He wanted her to be thoroughly happy or, since that seemed a little delusional in their world full of battle and death, at least content. "I will be more careful next time. I promise."

Steadily her body returned to his normal, not burning state. He held his hand out to her. She took it and let him pull her towards him.

It was the first time they were really touching. His big hand engulfed her smaller one. She was soft, feminine, while he had calluses on his palms, which scraped against her skin as he stroked along her arm up to her face. He put his hand on her cheek, savouring the feel of her smooth skin. With his thumb he stroked along one line of her tattoo under her eye.

"Sven, what do we do?" Her voice was only a whisper.

He closed his eyes, placing his forehead against hers.

"God help me, I don't know. One of us has to loose. We are the stronger team, have already destroyed nearly all you towers, so I assume it will be you."

She detached herself from him, the fire returning to her eyes. "So you think we will lose. And what will happen then? Maybe you want me to stay in the safe zone and watch how you slaughter the others? And destroy our heart? Is that what will make you happy?"

"Lina, stop. Of course it wouldn't make me happy to see you lose. But we can't change it. We have to fight and ultimately one side will lose the battle. What would you want me to do, stay back and watch as you kill my allies and destroy the heart of my town?"

The anger went instantly out from her, leaving her face pale and not nearly looking as confident as she used to, staring at the ground.

„Lina, if I could change our fate, I would."

He stepped closer and tipped her chin up, so that she was looking into his eyes again. His heart beat heavy in his chest as he moved closer to her. Damn, but he wanted to kiss her, badly. Just once.

A second before their lips touched, he closed his eyes. He could feel the warmth coming from her, her breath fanning over his face. And he waited for her to close the last fraction of an inch still separating them. He waited for her to give him this one small sign that what he wanted to do was good for her, that she wanted it, too. He felt as if this one second was the longest and scariest of his whole life. What if she backed away? If she didn't want him? She had said she wanted to kiss him early, in Roshan's pit. But maybe it had just been born out of gratitude, then. Maybe now that she saw his face, dirty, unshaved and, well, the warrior clearly visible in the scars on his skin and palpable in the calluses on his hands, maybe she realized that wasn't what she wanted. Someone like the mage would clearly suit her better than someone like him. But, hell, he wanted her. He wanted her fire and her courage, her temper and her pride. And, of course, her body. What kind of man would he be if he didn't want that?

Then she moved, closing the remaining distance between them and bringing their lips together. It was only the merest touch of her lips against his, very chaste. But it was enough for him to feel how soft she was. Sven shuddered, his heart beating so strong, he feared it would explode in his chest. He had blanked out everything around him, except her. He was utterly focused on every move she made, on how she smelled of heat and woman and on the feel of her under his hands. One hand was stroking through her hair, revelling in the feel of the silken mass spilling over his fingers, the other was placed on her hip, his thumb stroking over a tiny bit of exposed flesh between the corset and the skirt.

She sighed and it stole Sven's patience. Fuck waiting for her to move. She had given him the sign, she had kissed him. Now it was his turn. He brought their lips together, nothing 'merely' about that kiss.

Her lips yielded to his and opened, giving him access to her mouth. He didn't hesitate to follow this unspoken invitation and tasted her. The pounding of the blood in his ears got louder, his head swam and his mind kind of shut off. His world was reduced to the woman in his arms, his tongue stroking in and out of her mouth, tasting her fire. She responded without inhibitions, moaning softly into his mouth, her hands roaming over his arms and shoulders, looking for a place without armour, finally gripping his short hair. She pressed herself against him, their body's as close as they could get.

Sven had to break the kiss to get some air into his lungs. Panting, he looked into her eyes, which were a bright flaming yellow, her gaze burning into him. Her breathing was heavy as well, a tiny smile hovering at the edges of her mouth. Slowly her hands released their grip and started stroking through his hair, over his nape, across his cheeks. He closed his eyes, savouring the feeling of her soft palms stroking over his skin. He knew he had to get back. They had been together far too long and soon somebody would come looking for either of them, especially since the mage surely knew where he was. But it was perfect, standing here with the most beautiful woman in his arms. Touching her and being touched by her. Kissing her. God, he felt as if his whole body was on fire. Could she burn him inside, make his blood boil?

"We have to go", she murmured, as averse to parting from him as he was to parting from her. But she was right. With a deep-drawn sigh he stepped back and began to put his helmet and gloves back on. She watched him, her expression becoming one of confidence and pride again. Nothing was left of the fire he had seen only moments before, or the smile, showing him she had liked the kiss. Or of the second when she had looked so sad and defeated. If he hadn't been so sure he had seen it, he would have thought he'd imagined it. She was strong, stronger then he, but he had the helmet to hide his sad expression. Or the despair he felt now that he had to leave her, again. With the knowledge that the next time they would meet, it would be on the battlefield. Their two fractions fighting against each other, with them right in the middle of that war, unable to escape it.

He was reaching for his sword when he heard someone approaching. Turning in the direction of the sound he saw the mage. He was coming from the middle road and he was badly injured. The new heroes must have arrived, then. And they had already fought, without Lina and him.

As the mage saw Lina standing next to him, though she had increased the distance between them, he stopped. But only briefly. Then he continued towards him.

"Hey Rogue Knight, care to help me out a little?" His eyes darted to the side, skimmed over Lina and returned to him. He seemed to be sure of her not attacking him while he was alone with them. Even Lina wasn't sure if she should attack him or not. She had her flames ready and it would definitely not take much to kill the mage in this state. But she hesitated, then let the flames vanish and took one last look at Sven.

"I'm out", she said and was gone. Just as she had disappeared under the trees, two enemy heroes appeared on the way the mage had taken. The first was a Centaur and the second was some giant bat with dark blue skin, claws on his fingers and sharp teeth clearly visible in his opened mouth. He had wings on his back but he was walking on legs like a man. Not a bat, more like a vampire.

They didn't stop their approach when they saw him and since they looked strong enough, the mage was injured and, in the worst case, out of mana, and he didn't know if the possibly-able-to-go-invisible skeleton archer was around, too, he decided it was best to retreat and not take this fight under this circumstances.

"Run", he whispered to the mage. "I will stop them and then follow you. We will head back into town."

Then he roared, his War Cry echoing through the woods, and threw his Storm Hammer. Instead of attacking, though, he turned and followed the mage, who had nearly reached the top road. The road was clear and they dashed to the safe zone. The only problem was, one of the enemy heroes had an ability to make them move faster and it didn't take them long to catch up. And sure enough, the skeleton archer was with them now.

"I have enough mana to cast some of my spells", the mage said between gasps for air.

The Storm Hammer wasn't ready again but if they lasted long enough he would throw it and they could continue their retreat. He had to be the one to take all the damage while trying to block them from the mage. Because in his state he would not survive an attack.

Sven stopped and turned and they descended on him. Damn, they were strong. But the mage did something from farther back. Sven could see the lights in different shapes and colours, which did something, even if he didn't see anything specific.

Sven was slowed and silenced. But the Reaver he had bought had boosted his strength and though they did much damage, especially the skeleton archer with his burning arrows, he could take it. He waited for his Hammer to be ready again while he countered their attacks, doing some attacking himself as he could move properly again. The second it was ready, he threw it, being lucky because the skeleton had just changes his position so he was hit as well.

"Get back!" He ran past the mage, grabbing his arm and dragging him back. They saw the tower, passed a wave of soldiers and then entered the range of the tower. Not save, yet, but maybe they wouldn't pursue them behind the building. They didn't stop to find out, but ran until they were in the safe zone.

The mage half collapsed onto the ground and Sven was out of breath as well.

"That was really close", the mage said, as he could talk again. "Thank you for your help. I knew you'd be in the woods, so I took that route to try to outrun them. And hoped you would help me." He stood and offered his hand. Sven took it. "And say thanks to your girl as well. Would've been easy for her to get me. I appreciate that she spared me and I sure will do the same for her, if a situation arises." He turned around then, leaving the save zone but stopped again.

"And sorry for getting at you earlier. It must be really tough for you two. It is never easy to love an enemy. More so if she hates you." The last words were barely audible and Sven was sure they weren't directed at him and they surely didn't apply to his situation. Which enemy did the mage love, and one who hated him at that? There were no other women in the enemy team. A man, then?

But they had had a live before the fighting, before they had come to be trained for the war. He must have someone outside of this battle, someone from his past. Who was his enemy and hated him. He wondered who it was but knew better than to ask. They were in war and it was only painful to get to know each other. If you made friends, it hurt when they died. And it was way too great a possibility to die in this fight to talk it away. It was torture enough for Sven to know Lina was fighting the same battles as he was. And he sure didn't want to think about the possibility of her dying. Because it would kill him.

He couldn't stop from following the mage, though. "Wait", he called. "You are welcome. Despite my wish to protect Lina I don't want to see my allied heroes die. I will tell her what you said though I'm not sure she will like to hear how she spared an enemy. She is not very soft-hearted. And your help with the other three did the trick, I think. Without you turning to fight again, my chances would have been definitely smaller. What's your name?"

"Dragonus. I'm the Skywrath Mage."

"I'm Sven. What happened with the others? You got into a team fight?"

"Yes. We were on the middle road, together, and wanted to go through the woods to the top road. We wanted to get you on the way and then destroy third tower on that road. But the skeleton archer, he can go invisible. He appeared at our backs, instantly taking out one of us. Then the Centaur charged in and stunned us, while a third one, a two-headed dragon, breathed fire and ice upon us. Even the strongest of us, the Alchemist, didn't have a chance. He got the dragon but was killed in the process. As soon as I realized their superiority I decided that retreat was the better option. There was a woman in our team, too, but I don't think she got away. I didn't see her die, so maybe she was lucky, but she should have arrived here until now."

"So they have strong heroes now. We definitely have to wait for our allied heroes before leaving town again. We will observe from our higher position and defend our towers, if it is save enough to do so, together."

They stayed in town and waited, but the enemy seemed to wait for their fifth hero, too.

Sven wanted to go into the woods again, to meet Lina and tell her he was alright. She must have seen the three heroes chasing him and the mage and must be worried. Again. And after he had promised to stay out of such fights, too.

Sven felt on edge and went as far as second tower an all three roads, checking if everything was alright. But the buildings stood unharmed and the waves of their soldiers were out of his sight before they encountered the enemy soldiers.

He stood at the tower on the bottom road when a woman broke out of the trees. The upper part of her body was that of a young woman, farther down she morphed into a deer, her four feet and back that of a doe. She held a spear in her hand and something resembling butterflies where circling around her. She looked like she belonged into the woods from which she emerged, a creature of the forest. As she saw him she smiled and bounced, all four hooves in the air at the same time, in his direction. She must be the woman Dragonus had talked about. So she had escaped. Since the enemy heroes had chased the mage she would have had time to go into the woods.

"Hey, you must be the Rogue Knight." Her voice was light and sing-songy. "This road is clear. I helped the soldiers a little and they were attacking third tower when I left."

She bounced away into town and Sven followed. Nothing to do down here, then. He shifted onto the middle road again, because enemy soldiers had appeared in the fighting range of the tower. He killed the soldiers of the following wave as well before he decided to head back. He had nearly reached the stream and was way too vulnerable for a gank alone out here. Especially with the invisible archer in the enemy team.


	7. Chapter 6

Back in town he completed the Heart of Tarrasque at the merchants. He merged the Point Booster and the Reaver, crafting something more powerful than both of the items alone. Then he browsed the wares, deciding what to go for next. He had boots, the Mask of Madness, Crystalys and now a Heart of Tarrasque. That meant he had better movement speed, life steal, more damage including the chance to get a critical hit and improved strength including a higher rate to regenerate. He could upgrade his sword by upgrading the Crystalys or he could by better armour. Since he didn't have enough money to buy either, the upgrade or the first item for the armour, he delayed making this decision. He also had his shield but again he didn't want to do anything with that. Maybe he would sell it later because it didn't give him the improvements he needed.

The two new heroes arrived. One was an animal. He looked like a bovine but was walking only on his hind legs and had hands instead of hooves, in one of which he held a mace. Some strange mix of a bovine and a human maybe. And he was blue. The second one was a black ghost or a wraith. Though he was translucent, it was not really possible to look through the mass of black and the massive claws on his hands were clearly visible. As were the horns on his head and the sharp teeth in his mouth. He was glowing inside, as if a fire burned between his ribs, were his heart should have been.

Both men (if the wraith could be called a man) looked fierce and ready to go into battle. And they would get that battle soon, because as Sven left the save zone and went to the middle road, he saw that the enemy soldiers had again reached second tower. The mage was standing in a safe distance, ready to retreat into the town should one of the enemy heroes, in particular an invisible skeleton archer, appear. He passed him and killed the soldiers. And out of the corner of his eyes he saw movement on his right side, between the trees.

Time to head back, then, and gather the others before engaging in the fight. And he had to keep in mind to be careful, like he had promised Lina. He didn't want to upset or worry her.

They stood on the higher ground just behind the tower on the entrance to the town and watched the enemy approaching. They wanted to use the advantage of the higher ground and didn't leave the town, even as their second tower was destroyed. The enemy had fife heroes again as well. Lina, the skeleton archer, the centaur, the vampire and the fifth was a mage, clearly one who cast ice, but he was also clearly dead. He floated above the ground instead of walking and had chains hanging from his neck and around his waist.

As the soldiers reached third tower, darkness descended upon them and all hell broke loose. They had nearly no time to react when the frost mage cast an orb of frost, which bounced through them, damaging with every bounce it made, Lina cast her fire, a stark contrast to the ice of the mage, and then the vampire and the centaur rushed forward. The other four heroes had scattered with the ice orb of the mage, which wasn't so bad, since the centaur directly stunned him, when he was near enough. And the vampire was fast, using the dark as some kind of boost to his abilities. Only the skeleton stayed further back, maybe waiting for the two stronger heroes to take down the tower and him first, so that he could get the easy kills afterwards. But he would not go down that easy and, as in the fights before, the mage was the one who acted quickest. Sven saw the light around him, nearly engulfing him and chasing the enemy heroes away from him. As soon as he could move again he threw his Storm Hammer, though he wouldn't go after it but would stay inside the town. It couldn't hurt to stun the ice mage, though, whom he had hit. And now the wraith came forward, shooting balls of darkness on the immobilized enemy. Some of his allies went back into the safe zone, to regenerate, since they had gotten much damage from the bouncing frost orb, or to refresh their mana. The enemy heroes seemed to gather a few feet back, maybe to decide how to push their next attack.

Sven used the short break to regenerate as well. He had gotten most of the damage, first the orb and then the stuns and the attacks of the two enemy heroes, before the Skywrath Mage had driven them away.

He had to be more prepared the next time. If he could stun them first, they would be the ones to get the damage and not him again. But then he stopped. His conversation with Lina came into his mind, of how one of them had to loose. If they killed the enemy heroes now they would be able to push forward on the middle road and invade the enemy town. It would take time for new enemy heroes to appear and they had already destroyed the tower at the entrance on the middle road. They would be able to destroy the barracks there and maybe, if they were fast enough, they could even destroy one or both of the towers in front of the heart from the enemy city. That would be almost their victory. And when the barracks on the entrance of the middle road were destroyed, their soldiers would get a boost in strength, like a reward for the goals they had achieved.

Which meant: if they were able to kill the enemy heroes now, in front of their town, before they could destroy their buildings, they would have a better chance at winning then them. But, was that what he wanted?

He thought about Lina, about how fierce and proud she was. Would she fight until death before she let the heart of her town fall? She just might. Maybe he could convince Dragonus of not killing her, since she had spared him, but he surely wouldn't be able to convince the others. Especially since she would try to kill them. She would not wait in their safe zone until the fight was over, she had said hat. She would fight and try to help her allied heroes. God, what if they killed the enemy heroes except for her and she got away. When they would enter their town to destroy the barracks, would she attack them, even if she was alone? Would she come at them, even outnumbered? He wouldn't be able to help her then. Would he have to watch her die? He knew the blue bovine could charge at someone, even someone far away, and at arrival he would bash into him, stunning him. If she was alone and the bovine could stun her, she would stand no chance.

Sven was frozen in place, unable to decide what to do. He imagined Lina, defending her town against them all, the bovine charging her, the others attacking as well. God help him, but he would not see her hurt. It was the worst thing that could happen to him, her dying.

But the only other option was for him to lose. To wait in the safe zone, to watch how the enemy destroyed the heart of his town. Or to die. But that was no real option, either, because it would hurt Lina as well and he had promised to be careful.

"Hey Sven, they are coming again. We need your help!" The shout from Dragonus brought him back to the here and now.

It was dark, Sven didn't know if again or still, but it was the perfect condition for the vampire. The ice mage didn't cast his frost orb again, maybe it wasn't ready so soon, but that didn't mean they were weak. And since he was standing out of their reach, behind the heart even, they charged another hero, this time the wraith.

But even if Sven would decide to lose, to let the enemy destroy the heart of their town, he would never let one of his allied heroes die on purpose. So he attacked, throwing his Storm Hammer and hitting the centaur and the vampire, stunning them both. But the other three were too far away and since he had thrown his Hammer, they now knew he wasn't able to do it a second time directly. They didn't hesitate as they came forward, and started attacking the wraith as well. But he wasn't alone. The doe woman placed herself in his proximity and the butterfly things he had seen earlier appeared, now flying towards the wraith and healing him. They were fast and as Sven's stun vanished, he was fully healed again. But the vampire and the centaur were strong. They had more abilities they cast on him and even though Sven had started striking with his sword, they didn't waver from their focus. Then the bovine charged and his bash was enough for the wraith to get away. But the dead mage and the skeleton attacked and drove them back, because the skeleton had burning arrows that really hurt. So the centaur and the vampire got away again.

Sven was sure he could have done more, he was strong after all, but he hadn't decided yet how to proceed. So he stayed behind the tower, which had gotten a lot of damage and wouldn't stand much longer. The Skywrath Mage approached him.

"What is wrong with you? I understand why you won't attack the fire woman, but what of the others? I'm so sure you could have already killed minimum one of them if you'd tried. But you are pretty passive. Care to tell me why?"

Sven shrugged and rested his blade on his shoulder, his eyes never leaving the road in front of him. They would gather and then attack anew. He had to be prepared and he had to make a decision soon. Attack and kill them, so that they could go for the heart of the enemy town or stay back and let them destroy the heart of their town.

Two options and he was the key to either. He was the tank and he had to initiate an attack, if that was the way he wanted to take.

"Someone has to lose", he told Dragonus.

"Yes, but that shouldn't be us. We are stronger! We can wipe them out, then push the middle road and destroy their barracks. We are in our town, on higher ground. This is the best chance we could get!"

Sven didn't answer. He knew the mage was right but what would be the cost of that victory? If they killed the enemy here, in front of their town, how would Lina be able to get back fast enough?

Dragons watched him from the side.

"You already have decided, haven't you?" He turned, looking along the middle road. "Do you know what will happen when the heart is destroyed? Maybe we will all die as soon as it falls. Nobody told us."

Sven shrugged again. He would sooner die than watch Lina get killed. And if it was like that, she would die when they destroyed the heart of her town. Shit, he had never thought of that possibility.

"Well, you just made my decision so much easier." A wry grin spread over his face and he turned to the Skywrath. "Not on any account would I kill her. If there is the least chance of her dying when the heart of her town is destroyed, I won't do it."

"Yeah, we cannot know what will happen. So you would rather kill your allies? Let you town fall?" His eyes were burning some strange blue colour as he stared at him, as if he wanted him to deny it.

But he didn't. He would sacrifice everything for her. "Yes, I will." And as he said it, as he truly made his decision, all tension eased from his body. Whatever might happen now, he was sure he had decided right. He took a deep breath, the constriction in his lungs finally leaving.

Suddenly Dragonus laughed softly. "We should tell the others."

"Wait, there is no we. You don't have to stand by my side. It is enough when I take their blame and hatred."

Still smiling, though it looked rather sad, Dragonus shook his head. "Do you think I care if they hate me? There is only one person whose hatred I don't want and it seems as if it's far too late for that." With that he flapped his wings and approaching the others, who stood a few feet behind them, underneath the towers in front of the heart. They were waiting for the next attack as well but wanted Sven to take the brunt of the damage. They knew he could take it and wanted him to do his job as tank before engaging in the fight. Of course it was the right thing to do, nothing would be gained if the enemy took out the weaker heroes first, who were able to cast mighty magic or do extremely much damage but were easy to kill. But Sven felt kind of alone, like they were using him as buffer while they didn't care what might happen to him. He could die as well.

The Skywrath said something and the way the other three started shouting at him, he must have dropped the bombshell without smoothing the matter.

The doe woman addressed him. "Are you with him? You want to let them destroy our town?"

No use in talking around the issue. "Yes. I will help you if you decide to fight, but I will only defend and help you escape if you are down. Nothing else. The heart will fall. It is your own decision if you want to stay here or if you join us in the safe zone."

The enemies choose that moment to start the next attack. Like before, the centaur and the vampire rushed onto the higher ground but seemed confused when they didn't encounter anybody but saw them standing further back, doing nothing. They didn't waver though but changed their focus onto the tower, destroying it with only a few attacks.

Sven looked for Lina and saw her standing just outside the town, hurling her fire balls at the building. She was so beautiful and Sven wished he could have had more time together with her. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him and now he regretted that he didn't have more time with her. Maybe he could kill the enemy heroes and meet her one more time in the woods.

But as he looked at the bovine next to him he realized it was too risky. He would have to make sure the animal died in the team fight to give her at least the security of not being charged on her retreat. But that would be as if he killed an allied hero himself. As much as he wanted Lina's safety, he wouldn't do that. And it would only delay the problem.

He was sure it would hurt even more to lose her if he had more time to get to know her. So he would end it now and keep the image of her in his mind until the last moment. If he died, it would be with her in front of his eyes and the memory of her kiss, of her touch, still fresh in his head.

The wraith was shouting at him to attack, to stun them, to do something. But he ignored him, just staring at the woman with the fire in her palms. Her skirt floated with her movement, her hair was waving. She looked so calm. Nothing like when she had been angry, more like at the beginning, when he had thought she was cold-hearted. She looked proud and confident as always and as if her heart didn't feel anything while she destroyed the town of her enemy. She gave the impression of being cold, of feeling nothing, but he knew different. He had seen her temper and had seen her feelings for him. And it didn't matter if she only felt something different than indifference when she was with him. That was definitely enough. Or if she only masked her feelings that good.

She couldn't see him because standing on the higher ground he was outside of her vision, concealed by the shadows and he used this advantage to stare at her shamelessly.

The Centaur turned to the barracks, then, casting looks in their direction, waiting for them to attack. But without him and the mage, the other three stood no chance and they knew it. The doe woman gave up and bounced away. But she didn't go into the safe zone. She just went outside the field of vision of the enemy and then she turned onto the bottom road, leaving the town. She was a creature of the forest after all and Sven was sure she went into the woods, where she must feel more at home than inside of the town.

Sven really hoped they wouldn't die just because the heart of the town was destroyed. Why should their life forces be entwined with it? It didn't make sense. Nonetheless it was possible.

With one last look at Lina he headed into the safe zone. Dragonus was already there. He sat on the ground and had his eyes closed, as if he too wanted to leave this world with a different image then the town around them. Sven wondered about what or whom he was thinking about.

He wanted to do the same, sit down and wait for the events to unfold. But he had said he would defend the other heroes if they were attacked and so he positioned himself at the entrance to the safe zone, the bovine and the wraith in his view, and waited.

The two seemed unsure about what they should do. They were talking among each other, looking in his direction from time to time. The wraith started walking up and down, clearly frustrated from the prospect of not being able to do anything. When the barracks were destroyed and the enemy heroes turned towards the two towers, all of them now on the higher ground of the city, the two retreated behind the heart but not into the safe zone. The wraith had soma ranged abilities and from time to time he cast something like a dark fire. It did not much damage though and the centaur, on whom he cast the fire, simply ignored it.

They didn't take long to destroy the two towers but they were still wary. They didn't venture behind the heart as if they thought they might be waiting to strike them there. Well, Sven was ready to attack should they come into the range of his Storm Hammer because it would mean that they would attack the two others, still outside of the safe zone.

Sven could hear the crashing of buildings collapsing, of houses and barracks being destroyed and his heart was heavy. This was his town, after all, and he had the power to stop the enemy. But now it was too late anyway and he had made his decision. He wouldn't have regrets now.

He just wanted to leave his vantage point to wait for the heart to fall inside of the safe zone when he saw Lina coming out of the shadows. When she saw the bovine and the wraith she stopped, her hands coming up and conjuring the flames she would throw. But she didn't attack, instead she looked at him. Her lips formed his name, though he couldn't hear it.

He smiled at her, approaching slowly, scanning his surroundings. He didn't want to be killed now, when there was only the slightest chance that he wouldn't die when the heart was destroyed. He stopped beside the two others and addressed them. "Go back, you can't do anything now. Stay in the safe zone. It is too late."

"Yes, and all because of you", the wraith snarled and turned away. The bovine spat on the ground near his feet and followed.

The flames in Lina's hands vanished. "You are doing it for me, aren't you? You sacrifice everything." She floated forward, stopping in front of him. "You are amazing."

And hearing that made his heart soar. God, how he wanted to kiss her now. But he wouldn't take off his helmet, wouldn't even lower his sword because now the others were approaching. He stepped back, until he was on the line where the safe zone began. He could feel the wraith and the bovine watching him, like they just now realized what the reason for his decision was.

The enemy heroes watched him as well, then they looked at Lina, how she had dowsed her flames though she had just stood in front of him, her enemy. And how she didn't do anything, though the casting range of her fire was great enough to hit him where he was standing now.

And then the centaur laughed. "That is the reason?" He asked while rocking with laughter. "He lets us destroy his town because of you?"

"That's hilarious", the vampire said. His face showed no humour though, but maybe he just couldn't smile with those fangs of his.

"Don't you think it's kind of, I don't know, cute?" The skeleton archer asked. "It gives one hope."

The dead mage looked baffled by that statement, staring at the skeleton, who shrugged and tucked his bow away.

The wraith appeared by Sven's side, entering the conversation. "Cute? I don't think I would use that word in any sentence associated with the Rogue Knight. I would vote for stupid. Or daft." He shook his head. "How can anyone sacrifice himself for a woman?"

"Or worse, his town and all his allies!" shouted the bovine from the back of the safe zone.

"I think it's the most wonderful thing one can do", Lina said, her gaze never leaving his.

The centaur rolled his eyes and turned to the heart. "Let's end it, then." The vampire and the mage followed.

If one wanted to look, one could see the life force of the heart dwindling. And while the end was near, Sven stared into the beautiful brown eyes of the woman in front of him. And she smiled. It was a sad smile, but it was solely for him.

The earth began to vibrate as the first stones from the top of the heart crashed onto the ground. Then the structure caved in and slowly, oh so slowly, it collapsed. But it didn't only crumple to the ground, the earth itself split at the spot, where the heart was standing and every stone fell into that hole, into a pool of fire that was burning inside the earth. The edges of the pit were ragged and the enemies had to step back, lest they would fall into the fire as well. Heat spread from the place, leaving the air hot and difficult to breath and the hole in the ground looked like some giant wound in the middle of the town.

The enemy soldiers were cheering, the centaur was grinning broadly and the mage had something resembling a smile on his face as well. Maybe the vampire would like to smile, too, but like before his fangs seemed to prevent him from moving his lips into a smile. Only the skeleton archer seemed not to care much about their victory. And Lina was still staring at Sven.

Well, and that was all that happened. The fire burned for a few more minutes and then it died down. More enemy soldiers, probably from the waves already sent out, were gathering but they seemed unsure about what they should do next. As were the heroes.

Sven was still alive, and the other three in the safe zone as well. Dragonus opened his eyes and asked: "It is over, isn't it? And we are still alive? Wow." He flapped his wings and rose from his sitting position. Then he smiled. "Looks like we are free to go now. Well, you will excuse me, I have more pressing matters to attend then sitting around all day watching a hole", he waved in the direction of the destroyed heart "in the ground." With that he left. Just like they had appeared when it was their time to fight for the town, he vanished.

Sven lowered his sword. Could he truly believe it was over? And he was still alive? He had no time to think about it because Lina was racing towards him and he had only a second to let go of his weapon before she hugged him, pressing herself against his armoured body, her face burrowed in his neck.

Sven felt nearly nothing of her body clinging to his and that had to change. "Let go for a second", he murmured. When she shook her head, only gripping him tighter he laughed softly. "I only want to take my helmet off. I promise you can return to hugging me after that." Rather reluctant she pulled back, just enough for him to take off his gloves and then his helmet. The steel protection clattered as it fell to the ground.

"What will we do next?" Lina asked when she was in his arms again.

The other heroes still present gathered near them. They didn't know what to do, either.

"Since the mage was able to leave, we should be able, too. I'm sure we will return to the place from which we were sent here. But it also seems as if we can stay", the skeleton archer said.

The centaur looked around. "It seems as if it's going to be boring here. I want to fight. See you around." He vanished, too. The bovine, the wraith, the vampire and the dead mage left as well without another word. They really seemed to want to keep fighting in some other war. There surely were enough battles to choose one which suited them.

Only the skeleton archer remained and the doe woman, roaming through the woods somewhere. He was standing near the hole in the ground, staring at Sven and Lina.

"Bone Fletcher", Lina said without leaving his hug. "You want to stay? I presume it will be boring here but better than fighting all the time. And better then dying."

"The town isn't totally destroyed. And the merchants are still here as well, as are the soldiers. Though it seems as if no new waves are coming. But there is enough space for all of us in the two towns." Sven switched his focus to Lina. "I think we should go to your town. Since it doesn't have that hole in the ground…" He frowned as a thought struck him. He hadn't asked if she wanted to leave or not. He'd just presumed she wanted to be with him in one of the two towns. "You do want to stay, don't you?"

Before she could reply, the skeleton archer, or Bone Fletcher, answered. "I would like to stay but I don't think it's a good idea. My way is another one, as much as I would wish differently. I hope you find happiness, though." He grinned, if a skeleton could grin. "And don't die from boredom." Then he vanished as well.

Lina didn't move but kept staring at the space were the skeleton had been standing. She hadn't answered his question and the longer she waited the more his heart was hurting inside his chest. God, she wouldn't reject him now, would she?

When she turned to him she was frowning. Sven could feel every beat of his heart pounding through his body. He wanted her so much, never had he wanted something or someone like he did now. And she was still thinking. Damn, what was there to think about?

"Do you think it will be too boring for us here? That we should go as well? We were trained to fight and we haven't learned anything else. What will we do here all the time?"

Relief flooded him. It wasn't about him. Thank god. If this was the only problem she saw in staying with him in the town…

He laid his forehead against hers, closed his eyes and exhaled a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding.

"Lina, don't you think it is a little bit unnecessary to think about that now? Right now a little dullness is very welcome to me. And later… I don't think it will be too boring. We aren't the only ones who will live here. And if, only if, it will be too boring sometime in the future, I'm sure we'll still be able to go back. But I would greatly appreciate it if we could solve this problem when it arises. Right now I would really, really love to spend time with you without fear of being discovered. And I would like to take this armour off and take a bath. Maybe first the bath, then the time with you since I'm sure you would prefer if I didn't smell of blood, sweat and dirt." He looked at her again, still wary about what she would say. Damn, as if all his happiness was linked to her. As if his life was linked to her answer. He didn't know if it was good to be linked to a woman like that, but it was too late to change anything now. And when she stayed with him here, it would be the best time of his life, of that he was more than sure. "Let's think about later another time, shall we? I would love to learn more about you now. And just be together with you." His gaze drifted to her mouth, locking on her lips. He wanted to kiss her but as he had said, he should take a bath before starting anything else.

A smile spread across her face and made her eyes sparkle. "I think I know how you want to be together with me." Her smile widened into a grin, her hands wandering upwards to his nape, gripping his slightly damp hair. "And you are right. We will probably have enough to do here and if not, we can always go back, then. Now I think I want to spend time with you, too. And I would love to join you while you bathe." Her eyes wandered down his body and Sven felt as if they were burning a path along their way, leaving his blood pounding furiously through his veins and his body aching in the best way possible. The sparkling in her eyes had made way to a deep burning, her desire clearly visible. "I truly hope your armour doesn't hide a scrawny body underneath. But since I know how heavy your helmet is, I am really looking forward to seeing you without the steel." Her smile had vanished and her eyes were pure orange as they locked with his.

Sven could hardly breathe and his body was throbbing. He couldn't wait a second longer and captured her lips with his. God, she tasted sweet. He plundered her mouth, all the relief of being able to hold her, to kiss her again, flooding through him. His body seemed to realize just now that the fight was over, that it didn't matter that they had lost because he had Lina in his arms. She was unharmed, they were both alive and she was definitely as aroused as he was. She moaned low in her throat and pressed herself tighter against his body. Only he couldn't feel it because of his damn armour. And they were still standing at the entrance to the safe zone, clearly visible to the soldiers and the merchants.

Panting, Sven tried to bring a little distance between them, which wasn't easy since Lina wouldn't loosen her grip in his hair. "Bathe first" was all he could say, still breathless, his voice hoarse.

Lina nodded. She took a deep breath, her eyes skimming over her surroundings. "And a house for us alone, maybe." She let go of him, then took his hand. "Come, let's go to my town. And continue somewhere more private."

Hand in hand they left the town and followed the middle road along to Lina's town. There they would choose one of the houses, prepare the bath and Sven would take his armour off in front of the woman at his side. And she wouldn't be disappointed because he was definitely not scrawny. And then they would spend time together, get to learn each other and would see what the future might bring for them.


	8. Chapter 7

It sounded like a good end to the town war. Sven looked at Lina from the corner of his eyes. She was floating beside him, holding his hand. A small smile was playing around her lips. She seemed more relaxed now that the war was over, less guarded, though she looked still as confident and proud as ever. He really liked that look on her. A strong woman was just something special and he definitely liked that Lina was one.

When they reached the stream and Sven's gaze wandered to the woods on his side he suddenly didn't want to continue to the town. The woods were where they had met, where they had kissed and he wanted to go there with Lina, now that they didn't have to fear the approach of another hero. So he tugged on her hand, walking towards the first trees.

He turned around to tell her about his wish to change their plans but when he saw her grinning at him he simply smiled back. She definitely looked as if she approved of his idea.

They stepped into the first shadows underneath the trees and Lina squeezed his hand. "I like it in the woods." She said. "It is always so quiet. And" her eyes were glowing just so slightly now, "I have the option to burn everything that is around me, if I wish to."

"Wow, you do have a destructive streak."

Her laugh was light and Sven was struck anew by how breathtakingly beautiful she was. Suddenly it was hard for him to get air into his lungs and he wanted to kiss her so badly it almost hurt. But he was still completely covered with his armour and he needed to clean up first. Before he could forget about that, he turned away from her and quickened his steps, dragging Lina along. It was astonishingly easy to pull her, surely because her floating provided less resistance.

He took the first path down to the stream. He would simply use the cold water there. A bath would take too long to prepare anyway and he didn't want to wait any longer. He wanted to kiss Lina, to touch her, to finally feel her soft skin against his.

The water was only ankle deep but it would be enough. Sven stopped and released Lina's hand. He needed her help to get the armour off, because he couldn't reach all the fastenings. He showed her the first ones. "Would you help me?"

Still smiling, she began to undress him, her fingers working swiftly. One part after the other hit the ground behind him.

When the woman removed the breast plate, grimacing under the weight of it, he took a deep breath. He was so seldom without all this steel, he felt strangely light now.

The shirt he was wearing underneath the armour was soaked with sweat and sticking to his body. It was gross and he pulled it away from his skin with two fingers. This was something that he didn't even realize as long as he was covered with his armour but as soon as it was off, he felt nasty.

His upper body was now only covered by his shirt. And Lina had stopped removing the armour.

She was in front of him and her eyes roamed over his body, taking him in. The shirt was virtually translucent and the way it was sticking to his skin he could have been wearing nothing and there wouldn't have been more to see.

"I had high hopes," Lina said, her voice throaty and her eyes glowing, as she kept staring at him. "But you surpass everything I have imagined. I can't tell you how delighted I am."

His skin felt too tight suddenly. "Could you," he had to clear his throat, "could you keep going please?" He pointed towards the next fastening. He could do some of them on his own now, but still not all.

"It will be my pleasure."

With the last part lying behind him, Sven took the hem of his shirt and, stepping into the water of the stream, he pulled it over his head. He tried to ignore the woman behind him because he wasn't sure if he could remember that he wanted to clean up first, when he looked at her now. Her gaze from before had made him almost loose his mind and it would only be worse now that he was nearly naked. Now that he knew he would actually feel her against his body when he held her.

He pushed his pants down and, completely naked now, lay down in the stream, the cold water flowing around and above his body. He rubbed over his skin and through his hair, removing as much dirt and sweat as possible. He still held his eyes firmly closed but he was aware of Lina standing at the shore, staring at him. His body was aware of her and it reacted to her.

When he was finished he sat up, ran a hand over his face to get the water out of his eyes, and then he looked at the fire woman.

His mouth dropped open and his heart stopped beating. He was stunned. She had used the time in the best way possible and had already undressed, so she was as naked as he, now.

And, oh my god, was she gorgeous!

Slowly he stood up, not really believing what his eyes were showing him. How could someone be so good-looking? He had to kiss her, to touch her, to feel her. And damn if she didn't want the same.

When he stepped closer, she floated backwards slowly. Sven followed her until she stopped on a small clearing inside of the woods. He wouldn't have cared if they had stayed on the rocks next to the stream but he supposed it was more thoughtful to go somewhere where the grass was soft and it didn't hurt to lie down on the ground.

Their bodies were almost touching as they stared at each other. Then Lina put her hands on him, slowly stroking with her palms over his arms and his shoulders up to his nape. Sven closed his eyes, closed the remaining distance between them and kissed her. One arm was around her waist, pulling her body against his, while the other was buried in her hair.

Her skin felt hot against his and so very soft. Sven groaned at the first contact, it just felt too good to be true. Her hands wandered all over his body, stroking everywhere she could reach, making him feel as if his body was on fire. And maybe he was, from the temperature she was giving off he wouldn't have been surprised.

She was hot everywhere, even the red strands of her hair were warmer than usual hair. But Sven liked it. He hated the cold and Lina's fire was so very perfect.

He lay down on the grass, taking her with him, not once stopping kissing her, her hot mouth sucking on his lip, her tongue playing with his, her teeth carefully nipping. She was on top of him, all of her body touching his, from head to toes.

Now Sven began to touch her as well, his hands shaping her luscious ass, and one dipping between her legs. She was even hotter there and already wet.

She sat up, her wetness rubbing against him, her hands placed on his chest. Her eyes were burning when she looked at him and Sven was totally captivated by it. Lina was like the fire itself, her hair, her eyes and all her heat. It was magnificent.

He was breathing heavy and his heartbeat was drumming through his body. Her fingers stroked over his skin, tracing the muscles and the scars, while Sven tried to stay still. He had grabbed her hips and watched her now, how she looked at her hands on his body. He wanted desperately to move, to get going, but she seemed to like the touching, seemed to like the way it was driving him mad to stay still and let her pet him. And it wasn't as if he didn't like it, the way her hands felt on him and the way she smiled her approval. If it pleased her he would stay like that for the rest of his life, torn between pleasure and torture.

When she moved a little, a small gasp escaped her lips and Sven had to grit his teeth to stop himself from just pinning her to the ground and taking her. She did move on on her own accord and his groan was one of relief and pleasure, then.

It was so very good to have Lina on top of him, her hips moving, her palms pressed on his chest for leverage. He wanted to move his hands, wanted to stroke her, to caress her, but he was so tense, he could do nothing but watch and take the pleasure she was giving him. Maybe the next time, maybe then he could worship her body like he wanted to, but at the moment he was just lucky that his mind hadn't shut off and that his body hadn't already betrayed him. She was too gorgeous, her eyes blazing bright orange and her hair morphing into flames, on fire but not burning. The greater her emotions, the less she could control the fire in her body. She was gazing at him, moaning and panting, while she rode him.

Lina's hands on his chest grew hotter with each second and he knew that he wouldn't last much longer. It was too much, her movement, her appearance and the heat. He had never known such pleasure.

She must have realized something because she stopped to move and pulled her hands away abruptly. She stared at Sven's chest wide-eyed. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

The Rogue Knight wasn't really sure what she was talking about. He only knew that he was seconds away from the best orgasm he had ever had and that the most beautiful woman, who was currently on top of him, was disturbed by something. He followed her gaze and saw the imprint of one set of hands, perfectly visible, burned into the skin on his chest. No wonder it had felt hot.

Their eyes met, hers still wide and full of shock. Sven didn't care about the marks on his body and it hadn't actually felt like pain, there. It had been more like increasing the pleasure. He didn't want her to stop, wanted her to keep moving, to put her hands back on him.

He released her hips and put his hands around her wrists, pulling her hands back to his chest and placing them on the exactly same spot they had been before. She tried to draw them back again but Sven was stronger, simply increasing the pressure so she couldn't remove them.

"Don't stop." His voice was rough, almost a growl. "Please. I like your fire. Please keep moving."

He would have liked to smile at her for encouragement, to show her that he meant what he had said, but his body was so unbelievably tense, he could only stare at her while trapping her hands against his chest. They were hot, the interruption hadn't dimmed the fire any.

Lina remained still for a few more moments, before she began to move her hips again. Sven was lost. He tried to last as long as he could but in the end, pleasure overwhelmed him. He was sure he shouted Lina's name as he came but he thought he heard her shouting his in answer. He could only hope she had found her pleasure as well or he would have to make up for it. Later, when he could move again. And his heart wasn't thrumming like wild. And his breathing had returned to a normal rate.

When his mind began to work again, he realized that he was still holding Lina's hands and that she hadn't been able to move. She was half lying on him, half propped up on her elbows. It didn't look particularly comfortable and when he released her, she sighed and kind of crashed on top of him. He looped his arms around her, holding her close, and nuzzled her hair, kissing her temple softly. She was very light and still incredibly hot against his skin.

Sven smiled, so very content.

"Are you alright?" Lina asked.

"Gods, yes." He rolled onto his side, Lina now lying on the grass with one of his arms as a pillow, propping himself up on his elbow to be able to look at her. "I'm more than alright. That was absolutely incredible!"

"But…" She touched the fingers of one hand to his chest. He caught her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the tips of every finger and placing her palm against his cheek. He looked into her eyes, now back to their normal brown colour.

"I don't care about your fire. Or better, I like your fire. You can burn me every time we have sex. It felt extremely good and," he smiled, "I feel like you have marked me. Kind of nice to belong to someone as hot as you are."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. And don't you think I like that I am able to make you lose your control like that? As if the sex was as earth-shaking for you as it was for me."

Now she smiled at him. "Wasn't as if you have been doing much for that, instead of lying around." Her smile was definitely mocking now.

"Oh, that's not nice. I was so thoughtful to be bottom so you didn't have to lie on the hard ground and now you dis me?"

„That was nice of you and I appreciate it." She snuggled closer, appearing smaller now that she was lying next to him and not floating to make her taller. "And" her smile cheeky as she looked at him from under her lashes, "I wouldn't want to hurt your ego. I hope to get some more of this earth-shaking sex."

"Are you mocking my choice of words?"

"I would never do that!" Her voice was full of supressed laughter. "I'm sure I made the earth shake."

Sven shook his head. "So you are not only overconfident and destructive but naughty as well. I think I like you more every minute we are together."

When she looked at him then, her smile was warm. "And I like that you don't mind any of those things." She closed her eyes, her nose brushing against his skin, her body pressed close against his. He lay down and wrapped his arm around her, wriggling a bit until it was comfortable. Then he closed his eyes as well.

Lina was still warm, but not as hot as before. Sven began to caress her, his hand stroking everywhere he could reach. She felt wonderful, so very soft under his touch, especially when she relaxed more and more against him. He let his hand wander, petting this gorgeous woman in his arms while trying to take every detail from her in and carve them into his memory. He dozed off, then, extremely relaxed and content. And judging from the deep breaths Lina took, she wasn't fully awake, too.

"You feel wonderful." She mumbled and Sven smiled. It had been his thought, about her body, but he would take the compliment gladly in reverse. He kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you."

Then the strangest thing happened. He had been so happy to finally be with her. And suddenly, totally without any warning, Lina vanished. Sven looked at his side, where she had been cuddling with him a second ago, and blinked at the empty space. The next second he was ripped from the forest and found himself on some kind of platform, his clothes and armour, which had still been lying at the stream where he had discarded them, scattered all around him.


	9. Chapter 8

Sven sat up and looked around, trying to find Lina in this new place as well. But he was alone. He was confused, not understanding what was happening, but just when he wanted to stand up, memories appeared in his mind. Lots of memories.

Sven pressed his hands on his head and groaned. It hurt, but only for a few seconds. When he looked up again, he knew where he was. And why.

It had all been connected to the town war. He had come to this platform, which belonged to the real world, to participate in one of those wars. He had chosen a special kind of war, where the memories of the heroes were changed. Most of those memories were blocked and some were changed, so the heroes believed themselves inhabitants of the town they were fighting for, instead of hired fighters from the real world.

This platform was one of many where fighters could start for a town war. They got always back to the place they had started from. Which meant: Lina had been sent back to another platform, the one she had started the town war from.

"Oh no…" Sven whispered. She could be everywhere! And as he didn't know where she was, she didn't know where he was. And she had her memories back as well. Which didn't have to be bad necessarily, but it could be. Maybe she had a boyfriend or something somewhere and only because Sven wouldn't go into a town war alone if he was committed didn't mean she had to think that way, too. Or maybe she had some quests to do and didn't have time for him. Or maybe she was forbidden to have a male. There were millions of possibilities and Sven didn't like most of them.

He had to find her. As fast as possible. And hope that she would still want him.

He dressed as fast and as best as he could, swung his sword on his shoulder and set foot on the only road that led to and from this platform. Around him was grass, about knee high, with groups of bushes or smaller trees. The landscape was hilly though without real mountains. In the distance he could see a forest. The road led to this forest and Sven knew that right behind the first hill, at the edge of the trees, was a town. It wasn't very big but big enough for a few portals to other towns and a hawk master as well as a griffin master.

Sven would use all his resources: First, to send word out that he was looking for Lina, the Slayer, and that he wanted information about her and her whereabouts. Second, to get to all the great cities in the world one after the other, in hope to find her there. If she was looking for him, she would probably do the same and if not, he might hear something about her. That was the plan, and though it wasn't perfect, it was the best he could do at the moment. He knew too little about her to find her, knew nothing about where she might live or where she might be.

And so his search began. The first days were extremely frustrating, because he found nothing at all. But then he got the first answers from some of his friends, to whom he had written. And that was even more frustrating. They had heard about a fire woman called the Slayer, though they all advised him, whichever his reasons were to search for her, that he should stay away, as far away as possible, from her. Because she was extremely dangerous and she was said to burn every single man who came near her.

Great, Sven thought. She hates men.

In the town war, the memory, which caused her to hate all males, had probably been blocked. But now she would remember it again, whatever it had been. And the worst possibility was that she hated Sven the most now, because she had been with him, even though she normally would never have let him get near her! 

The last letter was crushed in Sven's hand, as he gritted his teeth. It didn't matter. He would find her. He wouldn't back off now because of the things others had heard. He was no coward. And though it was only a spark, there was still the hope that she cared about him in this world as well.

His whole body hurt when he thought about the other possibility, that she hated him and that she would try to kill him at first sight. And it didn't hurt because of the physical pain he would feel but because it would rip his heart apart when he would see hatred in her eyes. Hatred for him!

Shoving these thoughts aside, he threw the letter into a dustbin.

At least he now knew where he had to continue his search. He travelled south now, not to the big cities anymore, but to one of the smaller towns where the Slayer was seen from time to time.

It took a few days to get there, days in which Sven slept little and had way too much time to think.

When he arrived in the town, tired, dirty and more than a little hungry, he thought at first that it was empty. No one was on the streets and it was eerily silent.

From the corner of his eyes he saw movement behind a window of one of the houses. So he stopped and knocked on the door. No one answered for a minute or so. Sven waited patiently because he was sure he had seen someone in the house and because he had to know what was happening in this town. He had to find Lina and this was the town where he had intended to get further information.

Finally the door opened the smallest bit. Only one eye was visible through the crack. It examined him. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I'm the Rogue Knight. I'm looking for the Slayer."

The door opened and the man inside let out a deep breath. "Come in, hurry. Thank god finally someone came to kill that woman."

Sven stepped into the house and the man closed the door behind him immediately. "Kill her? Why should I be here to kill her?"

The man grimaced. "That woman has gone crazy. She has always been rather, ah, temperamental, but as of late every wrong word sets her on fire. Especially the men are afraid of her. You're not here to kill her?" Sven shook his head. "Why are you looking for her, then?"

"That's my business. Has something happened to make her so aggressive?"

"Nothing that I know of. I can only advice you to stay away from her. She has attacked more than one man in the last weeks simply because he was there."

Sven gripped his sword tighter. "I can't. Please tell me where I can find her."

"Well, it is your own decision." The man shrugged and gestured vaguely in one direction. "She's to the south. Just leave the town in this direction and you can probably already see it. Now go, if you are not here to kill her you can as well leave."

So Sven was kind of thrown out on the street again. He looked at all the houses and now he saw movement in more of them. Lina had to be extremely volatile that they were all so afraid of her.

His heart sank. It fit too much the 'she-is-angry-because-she-let-a-man-get-near-her' thing. But he had come this far and he would see it through, now. If she hated him, he could still leave. He didn't really know what he would do, then, but maybe he could just join some war. Some war where he could actually die, not a town war. That way he could be lucky and get killed. Because the prospect of a life without Lina, now that he had already had a taste of her, was so bleak, just the thought of it made him want to end it.

He had no choice and stalling was getting him nowhere. There were only two options: either she hated him or not. Either way, he wouldn't be able to change it but he could also only find out which was true when he faced her. So he could as well get it over with.

He took a deep breath and did as the man had told him: he left the town and headed south. The man had been right, he could see where he had to go, even before he had passed the last house.

This place was close to a desert but there had still been vegetation. Not here, at least not anymore. Every tree, every bush and every single blade of grass had been burned. There were black skeletons of trees and ashes covered the ground. Even the earth was scorched on some places. There were no animals, no movement and no sound.

Lina had done a thorough job, she had destroyed every living thing out here.

The last spark of hope Sven had had vanished at the sight of this destruction. What other reason was there for Lina to be like that then hate? She had been with a man, though she hated all males, because some of her memories had been blocked. And now, with her memories back, the hate was there again, only intensified. Because she had done something she would never have done if she hadn't been in this memory-blocking town war!

All the strain and pressure of the last days came crushing down then, the little sleep, no food, walking all the time and the constant worry about what would happen when he was standing in front of Lina. Sven actually stumbled, even though there had been nothing to stumble over.

He stopped and closed his eyes for a second.

There was nothing more he could do. But he knew now that there would be no leaving. He would step in front of her and he would be too tired to fight. The sight of her, engulfed by flames, would be the last. He didn't want to live without her and all this destruction around him made him see that she didn't want to live with him.

So this would be the end of the Rogue Knight? Too love sick to live without his woman? It sounded pathetic, but Sven didn't care.

He opened his eyes and walked on. In the town war he had sacrificed his town for her, not knowing if he would die in the process. He would do so again. Lina was his everything, even after this short time. He had never met someone like her and he was sure that he would never again. She was special, unique, and he would live with he, or not at all. It was the same decision as then, only this time he would definitely die.

He wasn't afraid of the dying part. It would be over fast enough. The only thing he feared was the look in her eyes. He didn't want her to hate him. He wanted her to look at him like before. Because he had seen that she had liked him in her eyes, in her actions, and that had been wonderful.

After a few more minutes of walking, Sven could hear something. And it sounded very much like Lina throwing fireballs.

Sven was as ready as he could be and so he rounded a section of stones and burned trees.

There she was. Sven could see her in profile and it took Lina a few seconds to realize someone was there. Her features showed nothing of what she was thinking or feeling, as always, but the way she was throwing one fireball after the other at some stones in front of her showed how angry she was.

He took a step forward and Lina whirled around. Before he could even blink or think about defending himself, a fireball struck him in the middle of the chest, so hard he flew backwards and landed on the ground. A column of flames engulfed him and his armour grew hotter with every second.

He had been right, it would be over in a few seconds. And even if he had wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to stop the fire woman. She was even stronger outside of the town wars. He smiled a little, then, though the pain spreading through his body was getting worse. There had been no hate in her eyes, only the same focus and determination as always. She had looked like the first time he had seen her and, he thought, that was a fitting image as the last one in his life.

Sven closed his eyes and waited for the last strike, the one that would kill him. He was more than ready now.

The flames died down but he remained lying on the ground. He was sprawled on his back, his sword knocked from his hands as he had hit the ground. Nothing happened.

He frowned but still didn't open his eyes. What was she waiting for? He was completely defenceless and there would be no better opportunity for her to finish this.

"No." The word was only a whisper and when he finally decided to look again, he saw Lina floating in the air, her eyes wide on her beautiful face.

Their gazes locked and now Lina moved. She was by his side in a second, kneeling on the ground and trying to unclasp his helmet. Her fingers were shaking and it took her forever to loosen the fastenings. When she was finally able to remove the metal from his head, Sven took a deep breath. He was confused by Lina's actions but was somewhat relieved that his face was free. His whole body hurt and he didn't regenerate injuries as quickly as in the town wars here. It would hurt for some time and it would take several days for him to heal completely.

The woman kept staring at him, and she seemed to be shocked. And unsure of what to do next. She touched one finger to his brow, tracing it. "I am so sorry." Her whispered words made Sven frown. She was sorry?

"Do you have something with you to heal faster? I don't have anything here and my place is about a mile away. I definitely cannot carry you that far. Maybe, can you walk?"

Sven's mind was reeling. She wanted to help him? Didn't she want to kill him? He was so confused he could only stare at her while trying to sort out the why.

"Sven?" Now there was fear in her eyes and she tried to get two fingers under his armour, presumably to check his pulse at his neck. When she realized she had to get the armour of, first, and her hands were still shaking so she couldn't get the fastenings to open, her movements grew frantic.

The Rogue Knight lifted one hand, almost groaning from the pain spearing through his body at the movement, and circled her wrist. "Stop." His voice was rough and he cleared his throat. "It's okay. I will live." His mouth turned into a half smile. "Though I don't know why you are afraid of me dying instead of killing me."

She sighed in relief when he moved and spoke before the skin between her brows creased. "Kill you?" She seemed completely baffled by the idea. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because I was told you hate men." Even speaking hurt.

She stroked over his cheek, just barely touching his skin. "Because they don't see me for who I am. They only see an attractive woman they want to screw and that makes me sick."

Sven blinked. "And how is that different from what I want?"

"It is. I've been thinking about it since I came back here. I thought you were just like those men and I was so angry at you. I wanted to hunt you down and kill you. But then I remembered how you said you wanted to know more about me, how you said you wanted to spend time with me. In the middle of a war. And though we don't know each other for very long I'm sure you wouldn't lose a war simply to get in my pants. But I wasn't hundred percent sure. Maybe you just liked the chase and the drama. And so, since I'm back, I have been torn between hating you and loving you. But you coming for me, that is what tells me you are different. You've already had me and you come looking for me nonetheless. And even though you know I hate men." She brushed through his hair carefully. "I would never have expected you to search for me. But you have done so from the beginning so I probably shouldn't be surprised."

She smiled now. "Stubborn man. You should have listened when they told you I am dangerous. And I'm sure they told you. They probably also told you to stay away from me."

"They did. But nothing could have kept me from coming to you."

Lina nodded. "See, that's why you are different. Now, do you think you can walk? I'll try to support you. I have some healing salve at my house and I'll put it on your bruises and burns. But we have to get there first."

Just the thought of getting up and walking made his body throb in pain but he couldn't keep lying here and maybe he could distract himself with the thought of Lina's hands on his body, applying the healing salve. So he gritted his teeth and, with her help, was able to get up. He was leaning on her small body but she was somehow able to hold him up and slowly they made their way through the scorched landscape.

"It looks as if you have been very angry."

A small shrug with one shoulder. "Burning things makes me calmer. And I can think more clearly when I have drained all my energy." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry I hurt you. Sometimes males come here, I heard it was some kind of contest, trying to seduce the Slayer. They have gotten bolder over the years until I decided to kill every male who comes into my terrain without invitation. I never meant to hurt you."

He could only nod, hoping they wouldn't have to walk too long. He would think later about what those males had done to make her burn them on sight immediately. Now he concentrated on seeting one foot in front of the other. It took them forever to get to her house.

It was small, a stone building between a few trees and rocks. It seemed to be well tended and, the house as well as the immediate surroundings, were free of signs of fire. Lina got far enough away to let her anger out so this place looked like a nice home.

Inside it was separated in four rooms. It was tidy and comfortable and Sven was more than glad that they had reached their destination and he didn't have to walk any longer. Even with Lina's help it had hurt like hell and he had to concentrate hard not to make any sounds and embarrass him with some unmanly whimper.

Lina helped him to her bed, which was astonishingly big for a single person. He crashed on it, with armour and all, not caring if he stained the sheets with soot and dirt. He took a relieved breath that turned into a hiss when the woman began to tug on the fastenings of his armour to get the metal off his body.

"I'm sorry but I have to strip you to put the salve on."

The next minutes brought even more pain but then he was naked, the pieces of his armour piled on the floor next to the bed.

The fire woman fetched a jar. The salve was cool but Lina's fingers were hot against his skin, warming the salve quickly. Her touch was gentle and Sven relaxed, the pain slowly fading into more of a soreness. He opened his eyes and watched the woman. She was frowning a little, maybe in concentration, as she worked over his body, putting salve on every tiny scratch she could find. Her hair was falling in her face, but having no hand free she blew the strands out of her eyes from time to time.

Sven raised one hand and tucked the hair behind her ear. Lina looked up and smiled at him. "Better already?"

"Much better." His voice sounded almost normal again and it hadn't hurt more to move his arm.

"Good." The frown reappeared. "For a moment I was sure I had killed you."

Moving his hand to cup her face, Sven said: "I'm not that easy to kill. But it seems it was a sure way to get your hands back on my naked body."

Her eyes widened a fraction. Then she gave him a stern look. "You make jokes about it?" She shook her head but continued to rub the salve on his body. "Turn around so I can make you back."

Sven obeyed happily. It still hurt but gradually it was replaced by pleasure. He felt hot and heavy and when Lina stroked over his neck and into his hair, he sighed. She kept petting him though she was finished with the salve. Sven relaxed more and more under her touch, getting sleepy. He had slept so little in his search for her and now that he was with her it caught up.

Lina finished with a kiss between his shoulder blades. She got up and Sven heard the rustling of clothes but he was too sleepy now to even open his eyes. A blanket was laid over him and he smiled a little. He thought that he had never been cared for like that and it felt really nice. Even more so since it was coming from this fierce and proud woman.

Then she slipped under the blanket, naked. Sven turned onto his side and tucked Lina against him, one arm curled around her waist, the other being the cushion for her head. Skin against skin, from head to toes. Well, from her head to her toes. She snuggled closer and Sven buried his nose in her hair, taking a deep breath, her scent, her heat now all around him.

He swore he had never felt so good in his entire life.


End file.
